


Behind The Scenes

by Jgem87



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-10-01
Updated: 2012-11-03
Packaged: 2017-11-15 10:08:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 33,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/526118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jgem87/pseuds/Jgem87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Katniss gets cast as Juliet in her high school play, she is shocked. However, she wasn't prepared for the jealousy from her classmate over her winning the role. She also wasn't prepared for the sexy Peeta Mellark being cast as Romeo. Will sparks fly for these two star-crossed lovers? Modern day AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New School Year

Katniss' POV:

Here I am, on the first day of my senior year in high school. I should be excited, thrilled actually. I mean, doesn't everyone always dream about how great their senior year will be? Going to football games, dances, and eventually graduating? But am I excited? Hell no. For me, senior year still means one more year of hell in East Haven High School.

You see, I'm not really one for cheering on our football team or dancing the night away at one of our many school dances. I'd rather be out in the woods, or shooting my bow and arrow at a target.

Which brings me to another point, archery used to have its own club at school and we had competitions in the fall. However, now the school officials have combined archery in with track and field, which isn't until spring. Spring is when our school musical always is as well. I am always in the musical because I love to sing. I never try out for any of the big roles; I'm perfectly content being in a smaller role as long as I get to sing. Now, I will have to try to divide my time between archery and the musical this spring. Oh, and I will have nothing to do with my time this fall or winter.

I'm still brooding on my thoughts when I walk into school.

"Katniss! Over here!"

I glance over to my right and see my friend Madge Undersee waving to me. I smile at her and walk over, slinging my backpack across my shoulder.

"Hey, heading to homeroom?"

She nods. "Damn that alphabetical order stuff! I wish I was in your homeroom."

"Yeah, me too, but we can meet up afterwards and check our schedules okay?"

Madge smiles and pushes some of her long blond hair away from her face. "Definitely, see you then!"

Homeroom goes by quickly and when the bell rings, I jump out of my seat and go to meet with Madge.

We compare our schedules and notice that we have Psychology together first period and Study Hall together third period.

My first two classes go by quickly, and when it is time for study hall, I get a pass to go to the library with Madge.

She is already there waiting for me, along with another one of our friends, Johanna Mason.

When I sit down, Johanna hounds me. "What's your schedule like?"

I show her and find that we have this Study Hall as well as eighth period Astronomy together.

"Sweet! Hey, you know who else is in our Astronomy class?"

I shake my head. "Who?"

Johanna smirks at me. "Peeta Mellark."

Just his name has me blushing and remembering the first time that I met him…

"Outta the way new girl!"

I flinched as some big, burly senior shoved his way past me in the hallway. I had no idea how he even knew that I was a new girl, I must have had a sign on me that announced it or something.

I had just moved to East Haven in the middle of my freshman year of high school. My father had recently died and my mother took a new job several hours away so that she didn't have to be reminded of my father.

It was my first day and most of the other students weren't very nice. Just as I had narrowly escaped being run over by the senior, some bitchy looking junior girl barreled right into me, like she didn't even see me or something.

This time, I wasn't lucky. I fell to the ground and my books and notebooks went flying. A few upperclassmen stopped and laughed at me as I scrambled to get everything back together.

I blushed and hung my head so as not to see their faces as they laughed at me. Suddenly, another pair of hands was reaching down and helping me collect my things. I looked up and saw a guy with shaggy blond hair and the most beautiful blue eyes holding out my stuff for me.

"Here you go, are you okay?"

I nodded, hastily taking my things and getting up.

"Hey, what's your name?"

I peered up at him. "Katniss."

The blond boy smiled. "I'm Peeta, it's nice to meet you."

I was so grateful for his help, but I wasn't exactly the most outgoing of girls, so I muttered my thanks and left.

I bring myself back from my flashback to face Johanna again. "So? Why should I care about him?"

She shakes her head. "Because, brainless…he's sexy as hell."

She's right, he is very attractive, and he isn't cocky like most good looking guys, but that didn't mean that I wanted to go after him or anything. I just wasn't into dating as much as normal teenage girls.

I roll my eyes at her. Johanna has always been all about guys. "How do you know he is in our class anyway?"

"He sits besides me in homeroom so I glanced over at his schedule. That boy is hot, I'd hit that."

Madge gasps. "Johanna! Girls don't usually say those things!"

"Well, I do. Get the fuck over it."

I have to laugh at them. Madge and Johanna are polar opposites. While Madge is quiet and innocent, Johanna is loud and crude. It's a wonder that the two of them get along at all.

Just as the three of us are leaving the library, Johanna notices a flyer on the billboard in the hallway. "Hey, what's this?"

I look down at the flyer and see that it is advertising auditions for the winter play. Now, although I do participate in the musicals, I have never actually been in the winter play due to all of the rehearsals being in the fall when I had archery.

The flyer reads: Tryouts for the winter play 'Romeo and Juliet' will take place this Thursday at 5:00 PM in the auditorium. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend!

"So, you gonna try out?"

I look over at Johanna and shrug. "I don't know, I usually only take part in in the musical so I can sing. I'm not too sure if I'm any good at acting by itself."

"You should do it," Madge says quietly.

Johanna links arms with me as we travel down the hallway. "Yeah, we can try out together, it'll be fun."

I smile at my friends. "Maybe…"

Peeta's POV:

The first day of my senior year of high school is only halfway over and I am miserable already. I mean, the classes seem okay and all, but the one person that I wished to see wasn't in any of them.

Sure, there were plenty of good looking girls in my classes, and I knew that more than half of them would be more than willing to go out with me. However, none of them even come close to her.

"Hey man, how's it going?"

I look up to see my friend Finnick Odair pulling out a chair across from me at the lunch table.

"Not so good."

Finnick snags a fry from my untouched lunch and chews before answering. "Why the hell not?"

I sigh and shake my head. "She's not in any of my classes so far." I know that he will know the she to which I am referring, he is my best friend after all.

He groans. "Day's only half over. Besides, when was the last time you even spoke to the girl?"

I don't even have to think for a second. "May 17th."

"Fuck, you remember the exact day?"

I nod, trying not to give in to my nervous habit of chewing on my lip. "Yeah, she dropped her pencil in English class and I picked it up for her. She thanked me."

"Damn, you've got it bad."

"I know." And I did have it bad. Ever since the first day that I saw her, and then later heard her sing in the school musical, I was a goner.

Finnick goes on about all of the hot girls in his classes and then about how excited he is to be on the football team again.

I am only half listening to him when I see her.

She walks into the cafeteria with her two best friends, but all I can see is her. Her dark hair is in a long braid over her shoulder, and although she isn't dressed provocatively and doesn't have any makeup on, she is more beautiful than any other girl I have seen.

My breath catches in my throat and Finnick looks up. When he sees her and her friends, he waves. "Ladies! Lookin' good!"

The blond one, Madge, blushes and doesn't say anything.

Johanna smirks at Finnick. "You too!"

Katniss, the beautiful and amazing Katniss, just scowls.

I hate that she scowls all of the time. It makes her look mean and unapproachable. I know that she isn't mean though, just guarded.

I wonder briefly why she is so guarded and has such a tough exterior, but my thoughts are interrupted by Finnick. "She so wants me."

I look at him quizzically. "Who?"

He gestures towards the three girls. "Katniss of course."

I feel anger flare up in my chest before I realize that he is chuckling. "Oh, you're joking."

"Of course I am! She's mysterious, that one. I think maybe she's a lesbian."

"She's not a lesbian! She dated that one guy our sophomore year, Gale Hawthorne, remember?"

Finnick shakes his hand in an errant matter. "Yeah, he was a senior at the time. I'm pretty sure they broke up though."

I nod. "They did."

He chuckled again. "You would know…"

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I've had enough of you pining for her from afar. If you don't make a move on her, and soon, someone else will."

I slump down in my chair, knowing that my friend is right, but not sure what to do about it. I'm not the kind of guy who just walks right up to a girl and starts a conversation. Instead, I just watch her and hope that she will notice me someday; that our conversations will be more than just a few words scattered over months at a time.

Later on, when it is time for my last class of the day, I have almost given up on having a class with Katniss. However, as I am walking into Astronomy, I notice that she is there sitting near the middle of the classroom next to Johanna.

My heart does a flip in my chest as I hear her laugh at something her friend has said. Just the sound of her voice, whether it be laughing, speaking, or singing, fills me with joy.

I take a seat diagonally behind Katniss, two rows back. It's just enough to be kind of close to her, yet far enough to not seem like a creeper.

I see Johanna's gaze flicker over to me for a second before she whispers something in Katniss' ear.

Katniss looks behind her and for a brief moment, her eyes meet mine. I give her a small smile, but she whips back around and starts to talk to her friend again.

Johanna is rather loud at times, so I begin to eavesdrop on her half of the conversation.

"You should definitely try out for the play," she says.

Play? What play?

I strain to hear Katniss' response, but she is too quiet.

"Come on, it will be fun!"

This time, I am just able to make out Katniss' words. "Okay, I'll try out."

Unfortunately, I don't have the chance to listen more, because class has begun.

As soon as class is over, I head to my locker to get my things. It is then that I notice the flyer advertising auditions for the school play, 'Romeo and Juliet'. I'm not much of an actor, but for the chance at getting to know Katniss better, I'm more than willing to try out.


	2. Auditions

Katniss' POV:

It's about ten minutes to five and Johanna and I are sitting in the auditorium waiting for the auditions for Romeo and Juliet to begin.

"I'm just going to try out for a small part."

Johanna shakes her head at me. "Whatever, I wanna play that sassy nurse lady."

"Juliet's nurse?"

"Yeah, she's vulgar and fun…just like me!"

I laugh out loud at my friend; she is right though, she would be the perfect girl to play the nurse.

We sit in silence for a few minutes and it gives me a moment to think. I'm not sure I can do this; I mean the whole acting thing. I'm used to singing and maybe have a few lines here or there, not the possibility of having multiple lines to remember.

I try to expel some of my nervous energy by scanning my eyes around the room to the other students auditioning for the play. I recognize quite a few of them either from class or just seeing them in the hallways.

I look back and see Peeta sitting a few rows behind me. His gaze flickers to mine and I quickly turn back around again; embarrassed that he caught me looking at him.

"Ohhh…Peeta's looking at you again!"

Yep, that's Johanna, queen of the obvious. "I noticed."

She shuffles around in her seat to look back at Peeta again and then turns back to me. "I wonder what his deal is. I mean at first I thought that he was looking at me, but it is clearly you that he wants."

I roll my eyes at her. "Yeah, I'm sure that's it. He keeps looking at me 'cause I'm like seriously the hottest girl in school." My voice drips with sarcasm as I say those last few words.

Johanna scowls at me, but ignores what I said. "Either way, he's sexy. Oh, and from what I heard from the baseball team last year, he's got a huge cock."

I feel myself blush bright red at what my friend just said to me. "Johanna! Not so loud!"

She laughs at my attempt to silence her. "Settle down, no one heard me."

Before I can ask Johanna why the baseball team would tell her about Peeta's 'package', the drama club director, Effie Trinket comes up to the stage.

"Welcome, welcome! The time has come to audition for our annual winter play, and this year I am thrilled to announce that we will be performing Romeo and Juliet!"

Oh, Effie, always so excitable. I can't help but to shake my head at her hot pink outfit and matching shoes. She was always a trip to work with.

Effie scans the room and frowns slightly. "Well, as much as I am excited to see so many of you trying out this year, it does make deciding on who gets what role all the more challenging."

I look around the room again and see that the auditorium has indeed filled up quite a bit.

"Hmm…I think I will have each of you only read either Romeo or Juliet's lines instead of just auditioning for a particular role. That way, I can see each person's acting skills and place in you all in the role that would fit you best. It will also take a lot less time this way."

I glance over at Johanna, who shrugs. I only want to audition for a small role, so I'm not happy to have to read Juliet's lines with some guy.

Effie directs us all to sit and wait in the choir room while they call in each pair of students to audition for her and the assistant directors privately.

Pair by pair gets called in randomly, so I have no idea when I will be called, or who I will have to audition with.

"This is fucked up. I don't want to be Juliet and fawn over some guy."

I laugh at Johanna. "Don't worry; I'm sure Juliet will be played by some perfect, popular girl who knows just how to fake a romance with whatever guy they pair her with."

A few moments later, Effie pokes her head in to announce the next two students to audition. "Okay, I need Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark please."

Fuck, really? Johanna was going to have a field day with this, me being picked to audition with Peeta.

I get up and Johanna flashes me a grin and a thumbs up before I leave the room.

Peeta and I take the stage and I get nervous. Butterflies start to flutter around in my stomach and I know that I will probably fuck this whole thing up.

Effie hands us each a script. "Okay, let's start from Act 2, the balcony scene."

My heart is racing faster and faster and I feel the clammy skin of my hands sticking to the script.

Effie goes to sit with the other two drama club directors and Peeta whispers to me. "Break a leg."

I give him a small smile. "You too."

We take a moment to look over the lines before beginning.

"Peeta you can start."

He looks over at Effie and nods. "But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?  
It is the east, and Juliet is the sun…"

Peeta continues through his lines and I am struck by how well he performs them. I can almost feel the love that Romeo feels for Juliet pouring through Peeta's words as he speaks.

I am so lost in his words that I almost miss my first line. "Ay me!"

Peeta smiles and I can tell that he is totally getting into his role. "She speaks: O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art as glorious to this night, being o'er my head as is a winged messenger of heaven…"

Again I am mesmerized by him. It's almost as if I do not see a guy auditioning for a role, but instead a young man desperately in love with the girl before him.

When it is my turn to speak again, I decide to try to do my best to make Peeta look good. He deserves the role of Romeo, and I don't want to mess it up for him. "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, and I'll no longer be a Capulet."

I swear I hear a sharp intake of breath come from one of the directors, but I could be wrong.

Peeta and I go through a few more lines before Effie stands up and stops us. "Thank you both! The results should be up tomorrow in front of the choir room!"

As Peeta and I exit the auditorium, I feel compelled to tell him what a great job he did. "You did amazing."

He blushes a bit and I can't help but to think it's cute. "Thanks, you did really well too."

I know that he must just be saying that to be nice. "Thanks."

Peeta runs his hand through his floppy hair. "Do you need a ride home or anything?"

I look at him in shock. This is seriously probably the most time we have ever spent talking before, and he wants to ride me home? "Umm…I have to wait for Johanna to be finished, but thanks anyway."

He nods. "Okay, so I guess I'll umm…see you around?"

"Sure, see you around."

Peeta's POV:

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why did I have to ask her if she needed a ride home? She looked at me like I had suddenly grown two heads or something. We were having a nice conversation about the auditions and I had to fuck it up.

As I head out to my car, I call Finnick.

"Hey man, what's up?"

I sigh loudly into the phone. "I fucked up."

He echoes my sigh before responding. "You messed up at the audition?"

I shake my head even though I know he can't see me. "Well, first of all, Effie made me and Katniss audition together as Romeo and Juliet…"

"Oh man, that's priceless!"

"I…I kinda pretended like it was me, just talking to Katniss about how I felt for her, instead of Romeo talking to Juliet."

Finnick pauses and then coughs a bit. "Wow, how did that go?"

"Well, she did say that I did an amazing job."

He laughs. "Ha! If only she knew that it was kinda real…"

Finnick was smart, there was no denying that. However, I soon realize that I hadn't told him how I fucked up yet. "But anyway, after that I had to go and ruin it by asking if she needed a ride home."

I could almost see my friend doing a double face palm at my stupidity. "Oh…I'm guessing that didn't go well?"

"Yeah, she looked at me like I was some mutant, alien monster and told me that she had to wait for Johanna before she could leave."

"She was probably just surprised that you asked her. Give it time Mellark, if you both end up being cast in the play, you are bound to get to know each other better."

I know that he is right, but I still feel like I screwed up.

The next day at school, I check the bulletin board outside of the choir room at least fifty times during the day. However, by the time the last period of the day rolls around, nothing has been posted.

I take my usual seat in Astronomy and when Johanna walks in, she plops down onto the seat next to me. "Hey sexy," she winks at me.

I roll my eyes at her. Johanna likes to tease just about everyone, so I almost never take her seriously. "What's up?"

She taps her chin in mock thought before grinning at me. "So, Katniss tells me that you're quite the actor."

I blink at her; surprised by what she just told me. Katniss talked about me? ME? "Oh, umm…"

Johanna laughs. "Don't be so modest, she says there is no way that they'll give the role of Romeo to anyone else after your performance last night."

Again I am in shock. After making a total ass out of myself last night, she still said nice things about my audition to her friend? "She did a great job as well."

Johanna looks at me for a second and seems to ponder what to say to me. Finally, she blurts out: "You wanna bang her, don't you?"

I feel my face flush and I almost jump out of my seat. I knew that Johanna was brash, but I can't believe the words that just came out of her mouth. "I uh…"

I don't get the chance to answer her, because Katniss has entered the room and takes the seat in front of Johanna and diagonally across from me.

She turns around to face both of us and smiles. Obviously, she didn't hear Johanna's earlier outburst. "Hey guys, what are you two talking about?"

"Nothing," I say at the same time that Johanna says "We were talking about you."

I could kill her right now, I really could. However, I guess I will have to wait because the teacher starts class before any of us can say another word.

When class is over, Katniss catches up to me before I can leave. "Hey, do you want to go see if they put the results of the auditions up yet?"

"Don't you want to go with Johanna?"

She shakes her head. "She has to get to work so she ran off already."

I nod. "Okay then, let's go."

We walk downstairs to the choir room and I can see a bright pink sheet of paper up on the bulletin board.

Katniss runs over and gets to it before I do. A second later I hear her gasp.

"What is it? Did you get a role?"

She doesn't answer me. Instead, she stands there blinking at me until I go up and look for myself.

Romeo and Juliet:

Romeo: Peeta Mellark

Juliet: Katniss Everdeen

I don't even look at the rest of the list. My heart begins to pound in my chest; I was going to be Romeo? Katniss was going to be Juliet? And then I remember something about the play. Romeo and Juliet have to kiss…


	3. Not So Subtle Hints

I cannot believe my eyes when I see that I got the part of Juliet. I really didn't think that I would get a major role, and now I was one of the main characters!

I hear Peeta ask me something, but I don't respond. When I see him go over and look at the audition results, it hits me. He got the part of Romeo. Peeta and I would play the star-crossed lovers…together.

In all of my shock, I totally forgot to see if Johanna got a role, so I force myself to go back over and check the results again. I see Peeta's name and mine and then I scroll down to see the rest of the names. There she is! Johanna Mason, as the nurse! She will be so excited.

I am snapped out of my thoughts when Peeta comes back over to me. "Well, congratulations Juliet!"

I smile at him even though my anxiety over playing such a major role is sky high. "Thanks, and you too Romeo!"

I watch as his face flushes pink and wonder what he so embarrassed about. "Thanks. Hey, are you going to the football game tonight?"

I didn't care to watch our mediocre football team, but it was fun to just hang out with my friends so I did usually go to some of the games. "Yeah, I'll be there with Madge and Johanna if she can get off work in time. Will you be there?"

Peeta nods and then smiles at me. "Maybe I'll see you there?"

"Sure, see you later."

As I'm walking home from school, I pull out my cell phone and call Johanna.

"I'm at work brainless, what do you want?"

"I just thought you would wanna know that you got the part of the nurse in the play!"

Johanna lets out an excited noise. "Woohoo! So, who are Romeo and Juliet?"

I pause before answering her. I knew that she was going to freak out when she found out. "Umm…Peeta is Romeo…"

"And?"

"And, umm…I'm Juliet."

Johanna doesn't say anything for a moment and I look at my phone thinking that perhaps I dropped the call.

"Oh my gosh! You and Peeta? Really?"

I can't help but to laugh at her. "Yes really."

She squeals, and the sound seems so unnatural coming from such a 'tough girl' like Johanna. "You get to kiss him!"

Wait, what? What was she talking about? "Huh?"

She sighs and I can practically see her rolling her eyes at me. "Have you ever actually read Romeo and Juliet?"

I think back to my freshman year. We did read Romeo and Juliet, but since I had just moved here after my father's death, I couldn't concentrate on it too much. "Umm…a few years ago I did."

"There are kissing scenes in the play."

Even though I heard her perfectly fine, my mind cannot seem to wrap itself around the concept. "Wait…you mean…?"

"Yes, you two are totally gonna have to suck face!"

"No, surely they will just leave those parts out."

Johanna laughs loudly. "They won't, trust me. Anyway, I gotta go, I'll see you at the game later."

My friend ends the call and I'm stuck all alone with my thoughts. I am going to have to kiss Peeta, multiple times. I mean, it isn't like he is ugly or anything, in fact, I find him to be very attractive. However, I am not sure how I feel about actually kissing him.

Later on, Madge, Johanna, and I find a seat in the bleachers and wait for the football game to begin.

"So Madge, did you hear that Katniss is going to be Juliet in the school play?"

Madge shakes her head. "I didn't know, congrats Katniss!"

"Thanks."

"Yeah, and Peeta Mellark is going to be Romeo," Johanna says to Madge.

The blond girl's eyes fly open wide. "Peeta? Oh my…you are going to kiss Peeta!"

What is everyone's obsession with me kissing Peeta?

Before I can say anything else, I notice Johanna waving someone over. I look over and see Peeta walking towards us. Well, speak of the devil…

"Johanna! What are you doing?" I try to yank her hand down, but I knew he had already seen us.

"I'm inviting Peeta to sit with us," she hisses at me.

Before I can ask why, he is standing beside us. "Umm…did you wave me over Johanna?"

Johanna gives him a saucy grin. "Sure did, you wanna sit with us? Wait, who are you here with?"

Peeta swallows and then runs his hand through his blond locks. "Usually my friend Delly and my brother Dave come with me, but Delly is sick and Dave is working so I came by myself."

Johanna's smile widens. "Well, now I insist that you sit with us! Move down so he can sit Katniss!"

I hastily scoot down on the bleacher bench and Peeta sits down next to me. I can't help but to notice that he smells like vanilla and pastries and the scent is slowly driving me wild.

The game is in its first quarter when Johanna jumps up. "I'm hungry; let's go get some nachos Madge."

"But I'm not…" Madge begins, but is cut off when Johanna literally yanks her to her feet. "Come with me!"

I shake my head. Johanna's antics are not exactly subtle. She wants me to be alone with Peeta. For some reason, it seems as if she wants to play matchmaker with us or something.

"Are you excited to play Juliet?"

I turn towards Peeta, trying to ignore how delicious he smelled. "Umm…I'm kinda nervous actually."

He gives me a small smile. "Why? You did a great job at the audition."

I feel my face flush slightly at his compliment. Why is he always so nice to me? "I never expected it to be me, and I'm scared that I won't get enough time to practice my lines."

"Yeah, I can't believe we only have rehearsals on Monday and Wednesday nights, it seems like we might need more time than that." He pauses for a moment and then speaks again. "Hey, would you like to rehearse with me outside of school as well?"

I look at him warily, but he seems to genuinely wish to help me. "Okay, that sounds good."

The two of us proceed to make plans to meet at my house on Thursdays after school. My mom works late on Thursdays and Prim stays after school to tutor her classmates, so it is the perfect time for us to meet and work on our lines.

After setting that up, we try to watch the game a little bit. Peeta's friend Finnick is the quarterback and we watch as he tries to tie up the game for our school.

My eyes wander around the field as I think about my new set up with Peeta. Maybe I shouldn't have told him to come over on day where we will alone. I am nervous just thinking about it…

My gaze lands on the cheerleaders and I notice that the blond one on the end is staring daggers at me. I know that I've seen her before, but I can't quite remember her name. "Who's that cheerleader on the end? The blond one?"

Peeta looks down at the cheerleaders for a moment. "That's Glimmer. Why do you ask?"

"She was giving me some pretty nasty looks…"

He nods. "That makes sense. She's in my history class and she was talking to her friend Clove, and she was so sure that she was going to get the part of Juliet in the play. I'm guessing she is jealous that you got it instead."

Someone is jealous of me…ME, out of all people! I feel kind of bad for her, but oh well, she'll get over it. "Did she get a part?" I can't remember if I saw her name or not.

"Yeah, she plays Lady Capulet."

Oh great, she plays my mother…that's just wonderful.

Peeta's POV:

Okay, so here I am, sitting next to the girl of my dreams and actually talking to her. That's right, like a real conversation.

I still can't believe that I will get to kiss Katniss. I know that it is just a pretend kiss for the play, but still, I'll take what I can get. I wonder how she feels about the kiss. Not that I will ever ask her.

I am also in shock that she agreed to meet up with me after school on Thursdays to practice our lines together. We had barely ever even talked before this week and now I am getting to have entire conversations with her and see her when school is over? It is almost too good to be true.

Her friends finally return. Johanna has her nachos and Madge got a soft pretzel.

"Hey, what took you guys so long?" Katniss looks kinda pissed at Johanna.

Johanna just shrugs and digs into her nachos. "Long line. So, Peeta, are you pleased about getting the part of Romeo?"

"Yeah, I'm happy about it." She has no idea how happy I am about it, I get to kiss Katniss, end of story.

She finishes chewing and looks at me again, mischief dancing in her eyes. "You've read the play, right?"

I nod, not sure where she is going with this. "Yes, of course."

She smirks and darts a glance at Katniss before continuing. "So you know that you two have to kiss?"

My mouth gapes open at her, but before I can say anything, Katniss turns beet red and smacks her friend on the arm.

"Johanna!"

She rubs her arm, but I can see that she is still smiling. "What? I was just gonna say that you guys should probably practice the kissing scenes so that they look real, it could ruin the whole play if you don't!"

I feel my blush creep down my entire body as I search for something to say to her.

"Settle down you two, I was just kidding."

I breathe a sigh of relief and I can see that Katniss has relaxed a bit as well. It doesn't matter though, Johanna is right. Katniss and I will have to practice the kisses sometime.

Madge takes pity on us and quickly changes the subject to the homecoming court which will be announced next week. Nominees are due on Wednesday and even though the dance isn't until October, the court would be announced on Friday at our pep rally.

"I fucking hate this stupid 'high school royalty' bullshit. It's always the preppy, stuck up snobs that get on court."

Johanna had a point. If it were up to me, I would like to see Katniss on the homecoming court. She was smart, beautiful, and talented; the perfect queen in my opinion.

A moment later, when Katniss gets up to use the restroom, I take a chance.

"Hey, Madge, Johanna, we should nominate Katniss for homecoming court."

Madge blinks at me in surprise, but Johanna grins. "Yes! I would love to shove it in those bitches' faces if Katniss was able to get on court!"

"Won't she get upset?" Madge finally speaks up.

Johanna brushes her off. "Maybe at first, but we don't have to say that we are the ones who nominated her. Come on, it'll be fun!"

Madge finally agrees and the three of us begin to make plans to get Katniss on homecoming court.

The plan is that Madge will get the form from the office and then sign and pass it to Johanna who will sign it and pass it to some of Katniss' other friends. Then, I will sign it and convince Finnick to sign and have some of his friends sign as well. Hopefully, we will have enough signatures to get Katniss on the court.

My mind floated off into a fantasy of Katniss in a black dress, her long legs peeking out from the slit in the side. Her hair would be curled into ringl


	4. The First Rehearsal

Peeta's POV:

Saturday morning comes and I'm in the bakery making pastries and bread all day. It's hard work at times, but I like it. There is something soothing about kneading the dough and making something delicious out of it.

As I work, my mind wanders to Katniss. I wonder what she is doing right now and what she is thinking about. Is she as nervous as I am about our first rehearsal on Monday? Does she even think about me at all? I think about our upcoming rehearsal and wonder if Effie will bring up the kissing scenes at all. How many times will we have to rehearse those scenes? I am torn between being excited about kissing Katniss and nervous about it. Also, I really don't want our first kiss to be in front of a bunch of other students.

My brother Dave is working the front of the bakery today; he and I switch off every few days and today is his day to help out the customers.

"I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat; can you cover me for a while?"

I roll my eyes, but come out to the front anyway. "I guess so, bring me something back too."

Dave nods and leaves the bakery.

I busy myself wiping down the bakery display case, but when I hear someone come through the door, I snap back to attention.

My breath catches in my throat at the sight of Katniss walking into the bakery with her little sister.

She smiles when she sees me and my heart begins to thud faster in my chest at the sight of her sparkling eyes and perfect lips. "Hey Peeta, I didn't know you were working today."

"Yeah, I work most Saturdays. My brother was the one working out here today, but he just took a lunch break."

Katniss nods and pulls Prim to the display case. "Okay, tell me what you want."

I watch as her sister bends down to inspect the pastries that I had made fresh for today. After a few moments of consideration, she chooses a strawberry muffin.

"Great choice! Anything for you Katniss?"

She shakes her head. "No thanks, I can only afford one thing right now."

I frown. I want to give her something for free, but if anyone finds out, I will be in big trouble. However, as I look at the sad look on Katniss' face as she stares longingly at the cheese buns, I know I can't deny her anything.

Before she can say anything else, I wrap up the muffin for Prim and then a cheese bun for Katniss.

"Peeta? What are you doing?"

I thrust the bag with both items in it into Katniss' hands. "It's on me."

She narrows her eyes at me and tries to give the bag back. "No, I can't accept this."

I sigh, wishing that she would just accept my gift. "Please take it, as a gift."

Katniss looks at me and then the bag and then back at me again. "Okay, but just this once." She clasps my hand in hers for a moment and I feel electricity coursing throughout my entire body from just her simple touch. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Hey bro, who's this?"

I turn around to see that Dave has come back from his lunch break. He must have come in through the back door.

"Oh, this is Katniss and her sister Prim."

Dave gives Katniss a once over and then nods to them. "Hey."

I really don't like the way that my brother was sizing up the love of my life, but since he doesn't know how much I like her, I let it go for now.

Katniss and Prim leave a few minutes later and my brother immediately turns to me and gives me an evil grin. "She's hot."

I feel my blood begin to boil in my veins. "She's off limits…"

Dave smirks at me and then laughs. "Settle down, I know you got a thing for her."

What? How did he know that? "Huh?"

"The walls between our rooms are paper thin bro. I've heard you moan her name late at night a couple of times." He winks at me and chuckles loudly.

Oh fuck… He heard me? My brother heard me when I was jacking off? I feel my face turn red and I stammer for some sort of cover story. "No, I wasn't…I mean…"

Dave slaps me on the back. "Settle down, I'm not gonna tell anybody, but seriously, make a move if you want her."

"Yeah, that is easier said than done. Oh, did I mention that she is Juliet in the play I'm in? And Romeo and Juliet have to kiss in the play?"

"Shit man, that's gonna be awkward! You gotta kiss her before you rehearse those scenes!"

I groan and bury my head in my hands. "I'm going to try to convince her to practice the kiss before we have to practice it during rehearsal."

"Make it a good one, those girl's lips should be worshipped."

I punch my brother in the stomach for what he said and that's the end of our conversation.

When Monday rolls around, I am almost overcome with nervousness. What if Effie makes us practice a kissing scene today? I will be so screwed if that happens…

I try to take my mind off of the rehearsal later by finding out how Madge and Johanna are doing with the homecoming nomination form. When Johanna hands me the form after lunch, I am happy to see over twenty names already signed for Katniss. My plan was going well so far. Now, I had to actually get her onto court and ask her to dance with me at the homecoming dance.

Katniss' POV:

I'm anxiously awaiting the end of school to begin rehearsal for the play. All day my mind has been wandering to the stress of learning all of those lines and acting them out correctly. Also, there's that whole kissing Peeta thing…

Speaking of Peeta, I noticed quite a few homecoming nomination forms going around school today. Peeta's name was on one of the forms and I snagged it up and signed it. He is such a sweet guy and I would like to see him as homecoming king over most of the other guys in our school.

I have been trying not stare at Peeta during Astronomy today, but I can't help it. Whenever I think about kissing him for the play, I get a nervous, tingly feeling in my body. I've only ever kissed one guy before, and I want to know if it will feel a lot different since it is for a play and not for real.

The bell rings, signaling the end of the school day. Well, this is it, time to face the music. I slowly get out my seat and Johanna pulls me back down until everyone else has left the classroom.

"I can't wait to see you and Peeta kissing today." Johanna winks at me.

I scowl back at her. "I doubt we will be kissing any time soon, now come on, let's get to the auditorium for rehearsal."

We make our way down to the auditorium and I immediately look for Peeta. When I find him, he is talking to that bitchy girl, Glimmer.

I watch as her hand lightly touches his shoulder and she bats her eyelashes at him. Could she be any more obvious?

He smiles back at her and I feel an odd, sickening feeling in my stomach. I'm not sure why, but I don't like seeing Peeta smile at her like that.

Johanna notices what I'm looking at and scowls. "Who does she think she is, flirting with your man like that?"

I can't help but to laugh at my friend, she is so misguided at times. "He isn't my man."

"Well, you are Juliet and he is Romeo, so yes, he is your man."

Effie walks in a moment later and directs everyone to sit in the first two rows of the auditorium seats. "We will just be going through a basic read through today to get you all more familiar with the script. Make sure you are all following along so that you can jump in when it is your turn."

We go through scene after scene and soon it is time for the first kissing scene. Once Effie announced that we were just doing a read through today, I had relaxed a little bit. However, it was weird to even speak about kissing when I knew it would happen soon enough.

As Peeta's lines got closer to the kiss scene, my palms began to sweat and my heart to beat faster. I know I shouldn't be nervous, but I am.

"If I profane with my unworthiest hand  
This holy shrine, the gentle fine is this:  
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand  
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss."

Okay, my line. "Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,  
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;  
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,  
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss."

Before Peeta can speak his next line, Effie cuts us off. "You two have such chemistry together, even when simply reciting lines! I can't wait to see you two act out this scene!"

I can't even mummer a thanks before Glimmer speaks up. "You aren't going to make them kiss are you?"

Everyone student in the room gives an audible gasp at her question. Effie just fluffs her hair and shakes her head at Glimmer before answering her. "But of course! It wouldn't be Romeo and Juliet without the kissing scenes!"

Sweat breaks out onto my forehead and I almost feel like I am going to pass out. Johanna senses that there is something wrong, because she grips my hand in hers and squeezes it.

"It will be okay. We all expected this."

I whisper back to her. "I don't know why I am so nervous about a few little kisses, it's isn't like we have real feelings for each other or anything."

Johanna has to stifle a laugh. "Umm…I'm pretty sure Romeo has quite the thing for you."

No…no he doesn't. I would know if he did…right? I brush off Johanna's response; she must be crazy or something. "Don't be silly, he is just a nice guy, that's all."

She rolls her eyes at me. "Sure, whatever you say…"

When rehearsal is over for the day, I get set to walk back home. It is only a fifteen minute walk, but when I see that it is pouring rain outside, my heart sinks. I know Johanna can't take me home; she has a late detention for swearing in class. I am bracing myself for the wet walk home, when Peeta walks towards me.

"Wow, it is really coming down out there. Can I give you a ride home?"

I look over at him and remember the last time that he asked me that question. I had refused because I didn't know him that well at the time, but now things are different, and I don't want to walk home in the rain.

"Sure, that would be great."

Peeta grins and I see some unknown emotion flicker in his deep blue eyes. Hmm…maybe, just maybe, Johanna is right. Maybe Peeta does have a 'thing' for me…


	5. Awkward

Peeta's POV:

I am actually going to drive Katniss home. She and I will be in the same car, just the two of us together.

I look out at the pouring rain and sigh. My car isn't parked too far away, but I don't want Katniss to get wet. "I'll run out and pull the car around for you."

She bites her lip and I have the sudden urge to just kiss her cause it looks so incredibly sexy. "You don't have to do that."

I shake my head. "No sense in us both getting wet. I'll be right back."

Before she can protest, I let myself out into the downpour and run towards my car. I'm drenched in a second, my hair curling into a frizzy mess as I finally make it to my car.

I get in and quickly pull up to the front of the school underneath the overhang.

Katniss gets in a moment later and promptly bursts out into laughter. "Your…your hair!"

"Yeah, yeah laugh at the guy who so valiantly braved the downpour to pick you up!"

That stops her laughter in an instant. "I'm sorry."

I chuckle at her. "I'm just kidding; I know my hair is a mess."

Katniss and I chat amiably about school and I am surprised how easy it is to talk to her. I feel like the two of us are getting closer and I really like it.

One thing is still bothering me though. I know that we will probably have to practice the kissing scenes in rehearsal soon and I have yet to bring up the idea of practicing our kiss yet.

In no time, I pull up to Katniss' house, the rain has fallen away to a slight drizzle, so Katniss reaches for the door handle to leave. "Thanks for the ride."

I reach out and grasp her hand to stop her. "Wait!"

She takes her hand off of the handle and turns back to me, obviously confused as to why I stopped her. "What is it?"

Oh fuck, am I really ready to ask her about practicing the kissing scenes? This could ruin everything that was starting to go so well between us.

"I, uh…"

Katniss looks at me in concern. "What's wrong?"

I shift nervously in my seat, my wet clothes squishing against the car seat. "Umm…I think maybe we should practice the kissing scenes before we have to do them in rehearsal." That's what I wanted to say. However, my words came out so fast that I'm sure that Katniss has no idea what I just said.

Sure enough, she shakes her head. "What?"

I repeat myself, more slowly this time. Once I am done, I glance at her anxiously, awaiting her response.

She blinks her beautiful gray eyes at me. "Wait a second; you want to practice kissing me?"

Shit, she doesn't sound too thrilled about the idea… I struggle to come up with a valid reason for wanting to practice. "Yeah, I just thought that it would be less awkward if we practiced at least once before we have to do it in front of Effie and all of the other students in the play."

Katniss bites her lip again, seemingly considering my proposal. "Hmm…I guess you have a point. When did you want to practice?"

Wait what? She actually just agreed with me? Oh fuck, I'm going to get to kiss her…and soon. I should be excited, thrilled, overjoyed, but instead, I am suddenly filled with fear. "Umm…maybe Thursday when we will have our practice outside of school?"

Katniss nods. "Okay, that will work since I doubt Effie will have us practice any kissing at rehearsal on Wednesday."

I inwardly sigh in relief. "So, I'll see you tomorrow at school?"

She gives me a brief smile. "Of course."

I watch her in silence as she leaves my car and runs up to her house. I make sure she gets inside okay before taking off down the road.

The next day during lunch, I decide that I need to tell somebody about my little dilemma, so when Finnick sits down with his lunch, I lay it all out for him. "Hey man, I need some advice."

One of his bronze-colored eyebrows quirks up at me and he smirks. "Finally gonna put the moves on Katniss?"

"Well, not exactly, but since we have to kiss for the play, I convinced her to have us practice the kiss outside of rehearsal. However, now I'm nervous as hell about actually having to kiss her."

Finnick ponders my situation for a moment while he finishes off one half of his sandwich. "Hmm…well she did agree to the practice kiss, so that's good. Oh jeez, just kiss her when the time comes! No need to worry yourself about one little kiss."

I frown at him. Just one little kiss? It would never be just one little kiss when it came to Katniss… "But it's a kiss with Katniss!"

"Chill man…just chill out! It's not like you gotta practice fucking her or something! In fact, if you are this nervous about a kiss, how are you ever going to get the balls to ask her out, or even get past first base with her?"

I sigh loudly. I know he is right. "You're right; I just wish I could be as smooth as you are with the ladies."

"It's the Finnick charm man."

Katniss' POV:

I still can't believe that Peeta asked me if I wanted to practice our kiss for the play. Of course when I mentioned this to Johanna, she insisted that he wanted to and I quote: 'fuck my brains out.'

He has a perfectly good reason for wanting to practice the kiss outside of school though. I think, and hope, that it will make our rehearsal kisses a lot less awkward this way.

When Wednesday night rehearsal arrives, we just run through our lines again, but this time we are on stage together. During my lines with Glimmer, I feel her practically spitting venom at me with every word. I don't know if she is jealous because I got the part of Juliet, or the fact that I get to kiss Peeta, but either way, I can tell she hates me.

Normally, I wouldn't care if some prissy, blond cheerleader hates me or not, but they way she is looking at me is scaring me.

All of Thursday during school, I can't help but to think about my upcoming kiss with Peeta. I have only ever kissed my now ex-boyfriend, Gale, and the thought of kissing someone else has me nervous.

I try to tell myself that everything will be okay; it's just a few kisses that will mean nothing, just lips on lips.

"So…kissy kissy time tonight, right?"

I roll my eyes at Johanna as she takes the seat next to me in Astronomy. Thankfully, Peeta hasn't shown up yet. "Yes, Johanna, we are going to do a practice kiss tonight. It's no big deal."

She smirks at me. "No big deal? Are you fucking serious? Is that the reason that you've been freaking out about this all damn day?"

How does she know that? "What? I…I haven't…"

She holds up her hand to stop me. "Save it brainless. Oh, and I better get details on exactly how those delectable lips feel or I will…" Johanna trails off and I turn to see that Peeta has entered the room.

"Details," she hisses at me as he takes the seat behind me and class begins.

Since Peeta is coming to my house today, I let him drive me, or us I guess, home. He is kind of quiet on the ride home and I can't help but to wonder if he is okay. "Are you okay Peeta?"

He snaps out of whatever thoughts were plaguing him. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine."

We arrive at my house, and after a brief tour, we decide to practice in the living room since it has the most space.

"So, I guess we could just go through our lines of the first Act, during scene five?" Peeta's finger trails down his script until he gets to his first line with me.

"Sure, that sounds good."

We run our lines, and I can't help but to be compelled by how well Peeta is performing them. He is one talented guy. I watch his lips move as he speaks his lines and I know that I will feel them against mine all too soon.

A few minutes later and it is time for the kiss. My heart thuds loudly in my chest and my palms begin to sweat as I watch Peeta's gaze flicker to mine. "Umm…well, I guess it's time."

I shuffle my feet nervously and bite my lip. "Guess so…"

He steps closer and I will myself to stay put. "Katniss? I'm going to kiss you now."

I open my mouth, but no words come out, so I nod instead. I watch Peeta as he steps closer to me, seemingly in some sort of slow motion. I try to calm my pounding heart as our eyes meet and I see the intensity shining through his blue orbs. His gaze lowers to my lips and my eyes flutter shut. I feel his warm breath on my cheek and a second later, he presses his lips against mine.

A spark of fire ignites inside of me. It starts where my lips are pressed against Peeta's, and it spreads quickly throughout the rest of my body. The kiss only lasts a second before he gently pulls away.

I can't help but to gasp and bring my hand to my mouth to trail over my lips. I look at Peeta and see that his blue eyes are wide and his cheeks are tinged a rosy pink.

What was that? What was that spark I felt when he kissed me? I have never felt anything like that when I kissed Gale, and now a fake, practice kiss spreads fire throughout my entire body?

"So, was that terrible?"

I blink a few times to bring myself back to reality. I shake my head. "No, not terrible."

Peeta chuckles and then smiles softly at me. "Hopefully, our rehearsal kisses won't be as awkward now."

"Yeah."

Peeta ends up staying for another hour and we practice our lines together as well as we can. However, I am still preoccupied with our earlier kiss. Johanna is going to get an earful later, that's for sure.

I can't concentrate on school work at all today. It's Friday and classes are cut short so we can all attend the mandatory pep rally in the gym this afternoon. This is also when they announce the homecoming court for this school year. That isn't what is bothering me though. It's still that damn kiss…

When I told Johanna about the kiss and what it made me feel, she almost had a coronary. She insisted that it meant that Peeta and I had 'chemistry' and that we should definitely get together or at least be 'fuck buddies'. I'm not interested in a 'fuck buddy' though, and I'm not quite sure what to do about Peeta yet either.

At the pep rally, I find Johanna and Madge and we sit together on the bleachers in the gym about halfway from the top. It is overly-crowded, and all that I can smell is body odor and dirty sneakers.

I wrinkle my nose in disgust before watching the cheerleaders do some stunts. I may or may not have been hoping that Glimmer would fall on her ass.

The pep rally is almost over when Principal Snow comes out to announce this year's homecoming court. "As you know, five lucky boys and girls have been chosen to represent East Haven High School as this year's homecoming royalty. Let's announce the ladies first."

I yawn and turn to Madge and Johanna and roll my eyes at them. For some odd reason, they both refuse to meet my gaze and Madge blushes a bit as well.

Before I can ask them what is wrong, I hear Snow's voice over the microphone. "First we have Clove Atkins!"

I watch as Glimmer's cheerleader friend gasps and runs to get her cheap tiara. I roll my eyes at the petite brunette, what a surprise that a cheerleader is on court.

"Next is Kyla Roberts!" I don't know Kyla, or the next person that he calls, a girl named Sarah Wendell.

"Glimmer Morris!" A loud shriek fills the air as Glimmer jumps up and down and accepts her tiara. I could just puke watching her in all of her excitement.

"And last, but not least…Katniss Everdeen!"

What the fuck?! He just said MY name! This cannot be happening…


	6. Surprises

Katniss' POV:

I still can't believe that Snow just said my name. There is no way that I can be on the homecoming court.

I just sit there in shock for a moment when Prinicpal Snow speaks up again. "Is Katniss Everdeen in attendance?"

I still don't move, hoping that he will just pick someone else or I will wake up from this nightmare.

Johanna takes my hand and pulls me up. "She's right here!"

I yank my hand free and try to sit back down, but it's too late, everyone has seen me.

"Come on down Katniss! Don't be shy," Snow says to me.

I glare at Johanna, knowing that she has something to do with this. I make my way down the bleachers and onto the gym floor to get my stupid tiara from Snow.

"Congratulations," he says as he tries to place it on my head. However, I yank it from his hands and put it on myself.

"Thanks."

The entire school laughs, either at me or with me, I don't know and I don't care. All that I know is that I need to figure out who did this to me…

Snow goes on to announce the boys on the homecoming court and the crowd is silent once again.

"First off we have…Cato Edwards!"

Cato, our wide receiver, runs up and accepts his crown. He is a typical jock, full of himself and way too popular with the majority of the females in school.

The next guy is Marvel Burns, another football player, followed by Adam Young, and Trent Sawyers. I don't know much about the last two, so just one more guy is in the running.

"Finally we have…Peeta Mellark!"

Well, good for Peeta! He is such a nice guy, and it is refreshing to see someone nice on court.

I watch as Peeta's blond head pokes up from the crowd and he makes his way over to Snow. As he passes by me, he gives me a small smile and I attempt to return it.

After the pep rally is over, I tear my tiara off of my head and make a beeline for Johanna and Madge. "Explain. NOW!"

Madge looks down at her feet and Johanna just laughs. "I don't know, maybe since you landed the role of Juliet you've suddenly gotten popular or something."

I shake my head. "Nope, not gonna cut it. Whose idea was this?"

Madge and Johanna look at each other and then Johanna sighs. "It was my idea."

Madge opens her mouth to say something, but Johanna interrupts her. "I thought it would be nice to have someone who isn't a bitchy fuckface on homecoming court."

I'm angry at her, but she does have a point. "Well, I wish you would have asked me before you decided to nominate me! Now I have to go buy a dress!"

"Actually, you have to buy two, one for the dance and one for when they announce you at the game."

I glare at Johanna, but she is right. "Fuck! Do I have to find an escort too?"

Madge shakes her head. "No, they will put you with someone else from court to save time."

I thought about this for a moment. It made sense. I can only hope they will put me with Peeta. "Well hopefully I get to be paired up with Peeta."

Johanna nudges Madge in the arm before smiling at me. "Oh? And why is that? Do I sense a little crush on Mr. Mellark after that kiss of yours?"

I feel my face heat up at the thought of his lips and how they felt on mine. I brush it off and give Johanna the nastiest look I can muster. "No, but at least the two of us are friends."

A moment later, I see Peeta walking towards us and smiling. Why is he always around when Johanna is talking about him? It's like he knows.

"Hey Katniss, congratulations!" His smile brightens.

I scowl at him. "Yeah, yeah, you too."

He frowns at my scowl. "Are you upset?"

My eyes flicker to Johanna as I answer him. "I just wish Johanna would have told me she planned to nominate me before she actually did it!"

Peeta looks confused. "But…"

Johanna rushes in and interrupts Peeta. "Look, I already said I was sorry Katniss, please don't be mad at me." She gives me her best innocent look, which isn't very convincing.

I sigh and shake my head. "Okay, but you and Madge have to help me pick out two dresses tomorrow."

The next day, Johanna, Madge, and I head to the mall so that I could get the dresses I needed for the dance and the game. Our school had our dance on the Thursday before the game on Friday. The court would be presented at both the dance and the game, but the king and queen wouldn't be announced until half time at the game.

Johanna shoves a short, red dress into my hands. "This one would work great for the dance!"

However, when I try it on, I see that it is almost pure spandex and barely covers my breasts or my ass. As I come out of the dressing room as requested by my friends, Johanna's eyes light up. "It's perfect!"

I shake my head at her as I attempt to cover myself up. "Oh no, this dress is ridiculous!"

Madge giggles and Johanna scowls at me. "Come on! Peeta will love it!"

Why should I care what he would love? It's not like we are dating or anything. "There's nothing going on between the two of us!"

"Never said there was…" Johanna trails off and goes to fiddle with her cell phone.

Two hours later and I finally find two dresses that I like. The first one is for the dance which is semi-formal. It is a knee-length violet-colored dress. The second is floor-length and is a glittery midnight blue. Now, I just have to deal with all of the other homecoming court nonsense that has yet to come.

Peeta's POV:

I am still in shock that both Katniss and I got on the homecoming court. I was hoping that she would, but I had no idea that I was nominated as well!

I can only hope that I am the one paired as her escort. I will hate it if I have to watch her on some other guy's arm.

She was so angry that she was nominated though. I seriously owe Johanna for taking the blame for me. I don't need Katniss to be angry at me, even though it was my idea to nominate her in the first place.

So here I am at work, rolling out some dough for cookies and trying not to daydream about how beautiful Katniss will look at the dance and game in a few weeks.

I hear my phone ding, indicating that I have received a new text message. I wipe the flour off of my hands and retrieve my phone.

Hmm…one new picture message from a number that I don't recognize. Curiosity gets the best of me and I open it.

Wow…just wow. The picture is of Katniss in a very short red dress that clings to every curve on her body. I feel my body automatically reacting to the provocative dress and I eagerly scroll down to see if there is a message attached to the picture.

Enjoy Romeo! 3 Johanna

How did Johanna get my number? Oh wait, what do I care? She just sent me the sexiest pic of Katniss that I will probably ever get. I scroll back up and admire the way that the dress accentuates Katniss' body. The dress barely covers anything and I get a nice view of her cleavage that I have never seen before.

"Peeta! How's that dough coming along?"

I almost drop my phone when I hear my dad's voice from the other room. "Coming right up!"

Okay, time to get back to work.

Monday at school, the secretary announces that all of the students on the homecoming court need to come to the office for pictures and information.

When I arrive, I see that I am the last one there. All of the girls, minus Katniss, huddle together and fix their perfect hair and makeup in their compact mirrors. I laugh to myself when I see that they have all curled their hair and put on gobs of makeup for the pictures, while Katniss has her hair in her signature braid and doesn't have one ounce of makeup on. The funny thing is, is that Katniss is still the most beautiful girl there, by far.

The head of our school activities board, Portia, is there to instruct us. "Okay, first we will do your individual photos and then a group one. After that, I will pair you off how you will be presented at the dance and game."

The photos go by quickly, and I manage to sneak in by Katniss during the group photo.

"Okay, so I have decided that the best way to pair you off is just by your last names. So, Clove and Marvel, Katniss and Cato, Glimmer and Peeta, Kyla and Trent, and Sarah and Adam will be the official pairs."

I groan inwardly. I have to escort Glimmer, and not only that, but I have to watch Cato escort Katniss.

Glimmer bounces over to me, obviously excited. "Isn't this great Peeta?"

Now, since I'm a nice guy, I will try to be polite to her. However, I can't help but to look over her head at Katniss talking to Cato. Red hot jealousy courses through my veins as Katniss laughs at something he says.

"Hello?"

I shake myself out of my head and back to the overly-bubbly blond in front of me. "Oh yeah, it'll be great."

Glimmer must have noticed me looking at Katniss, because she turns her head and scowls, before flouncing off.

I don't see Katniss again until Astronomy. She is sitting in her usual seat talking to Johanna when I walk in. They are so engrossed in their conversation that they don't see me when I arrive.

"Yeah, I'm paired with Cato, and Peeta is with that bitchy girl, Glimmer."

"That sucks! Oh, and we all know that Glimmer will be all over him, stupid slut, trying to take your man."

My heart starts to thud loudly in my chest at Johanna's words, but then Katniss speaks up. "Peeta isn't…" She trails off when she finally notices me.

I feel my face flush, but I pretend I have no idea what they are talking about. "What's going on ladies?"

Katniss' face turns pink. "Nothing, I was just telling Johanna about the homecoming court pairings."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, they suck."

Both of them laugh and Katniss smiles. "I was hoping to be paired with you."

I can't help an enormous grin from spreading across my face. "Me too, Glimmer is annoying and stuck up."

"So is Cato."

Class starts up after that, but I'm still elated after what Katniss told me. Maybe, just maybe I have a chance with her after all.


	7. Is It Real?

Peeta's POV:

It's Monday, so that means it is time for rehearsal. I walk down to the auditorium with Katniss and Johanna and silently wonder what Effie will make us do today.

When we arrive, Effie is already on stage placing people where they need to be for the first Act of the play.

"Okay, we are going to go in depth with the first Act today. Just the first one, so let's all take out our scripts and get it going!"

I roll my eyes and laugh with Katniss and Johanna. Effie is always a bit eccentric when it comes to…well, just about everything.

I flip through my script to what we will be rehearsing today and when I get to scene five, my breath catches in my throat. It's the kissing scene…the one that Katniss and I had practiced last week.

My heart thumps loudly in my chest as I think about that kiss. I only kissed her for a brief moment, but that moment was amazing. Her lips were soft and warm against my own and I felt a jolt of electricity spread throughout my entire body at the simple joining of our lips.

Now, it looks like I will get to experience that again. My palms begin to sweat as I think about the scene and acting it out in front of all of the other student actors. What if I mess up the kiss?

I don't have much time to ponder my worries though, because Effie begins to instruct me in where I need to stand for my first scene.

The first Act is going by quickly, and when it is time for my first scene with Katniss, the kissing scene, I see Johanna smirk and whisper something into Katniss' ear that makes her blush.

In the play, Romeo kisses Juliet to 'purge his sin', speaking metaphorically, and then she wishes to purge hers as well so they kiss again.

"Okay, Peeta, Katniss, let's have you two stand right here in the center of the stage for this scene. I am going to have you practice the two kisses, but don't be nervous! It's just acting my dears!"

Yeah, just acting…like I could ever fake a kiss to the girl I am in love with.

Katniss shuffles up to the center of the stage and I follow. We go through the lines easily and I try my best to portray Romeo and how he feels about meeting Juliet for the first time. Katniss does an amazing job as Juliet and before I know it, it is time to kiss her.

I step closer to her, trying to ignore all of the other people watching my every move. I dare to glance into Katniss' eyes and I see a look of fear and something else too behind her gray orbs.

I lean in slowly, and just as I am about to meet her lips with mine, a loud cough startles me.

I instinctively jump back and look behind me. Glimmer is standing off to the side, glaring at Katniss and me. It is obvious that she was the one who coughed.

"Glimmer! If you are ill I suggest you go sit in the choir room or something until it is your turn to speak. Now Peeta, please resume where you left off."

I nod at Effie and take my place in front of Katniss again. She gives me a small smile and I work up the nerve to kiss her.

This time when I lean in, no one interrupts me. My lips press firmly to hers and as the play states, she does not respond. It doesn't matter though; my entire body feels like I have been struck by lightning, but in a good way. A tingling sensation spreads throughout me and I want nothing more than to kiss her again and again.

However, I am acting as Romeo, and as Romeo, I reluctantly break away.

Silence. The entire room is silent as I step away from Katniss. I notice her face is slightly flushed, as mine probably is as well. However, I don't know why everyone is so…quiet.

Finally, Effie speaks up. "Peeta! That was wonderful! If I didn't know any better I'd say that you really are Romeo, in love with the woman before you!"

I hear a few snickers behind me and I do my best not to blush at her words. She doesn't know how true they really are.

We say a few more lines and then it is time for us to kiss again. It is Katniss' turn to initiate this time so I try to take everything in. I see her gaze at my lips, and then bite her own before stepping forward and kissing me.

I feel the electricity again and it takes everything in my power not to pull her into my arms and deepen the kiss.

It ends all too soon, and before I know it, rehearsal is over.

Johanna and Katniss meet up with me afterward. "Hey, I'm going to run to the restroom, I'll be right back." Katniss takes off towards the ladies' room leaving me alone with Johanna.

The corner of her lips perks up in a mischievous smirk. "So, did you like the pic I sent you the other day?"

I swallow hard; picturing Katniss in that short, red dress. "I...I uh…"

Johanna lets out a big, booming laugh. "Yeah, I thought so."

I think that she wants to say more, but Katniss reappears. "Hey Peeta, I think the kissing scenes went fairly well, minus Glimmer being a bitch. What do you think?"

What do I think? I think that I want to kiss her again right now… "Yeah, it wasn't bad at all."

She smiles at me and my day is made.

Katniss' POV:

I am thankful when rehearsal is finally over for the day and I am home. The kissing scenes went well, except for Glimmer that is. I don't know what she has against me other than she wants to be Juliet, but she is the biggest bitch I have ever met.

Speaking of the kissing scenes though, I felt that spark of fire again when Peeta and I kissed both times. It was even more intense than before, and it burned my entire body in the most delicious way possible. I never knew that a kiss could feel that way, and those ones weren't even real!

A small part of me wonders what it would be like for Peeta to kiss me for real. Would my body burn with desire? Would it be better? Worse?

I quickly shake myself out of such thoughts. Kissing for real would have to involve having feelings for each other. I'm sure that a popular guy like Peeta doesn't want to be with someone like me. There are much prettier girls out there, like Glimmer for example. Her hair and makeup are always perfect, and I'm sure that she and Peeta will be homecoming king and queen.

As I am thinking about this, I feel a sudden desire to rip out all of Glimmer golden blond hair from her head. I don't know why I suddenly hate her so much, just that I do.

I feel odd and I don't like it.

Even though I just saw her a little while ago, I call Johanna.

"What you want?" She answers in a huff.

"Can I talk to you?" My voice is small and meek compared to hers.

"What is it?" Her voice has calmed a bit.

I sigh. "I hate Glimmer."

She laughs loudly. "Thanks for the newsflash, brainless. Why did you need to call and tell me that?"

I frown to myself. This isn't exactly what I was hoping for. "She's too perfect! Everything about her is perfection and how can I ever hope to compete with that?"

There is a pause before Johanna speaks again. "Whoa, settle down now. How are you competing with her? I mean, other than for homecoming queen?"

I think about that for a moment. Johanna is right, I already got the part in the play that Glimmer wanted, and I really didn't care about being queen. So how am I competing with her? Then, it hits me. I am jealous. I'm jealous of Glimmer hanging all over Peeta. I'm jealous because Glimmer is popular and beautiful and like my previous thought, is someone that Peeta should be with. Why should I care though? Why should I care if he dates her? A small voice inside of my head tells me that I care because I want to be with Peeta myself. I try to shake that thought away; I really don't even know him that well. I certainly can't tell Johanna that anyway.

"I… don't know, forget I said anything."

Johanna sighs. "Look, I know something has you frazzled, but I can tell that you aren't quite ready to tell me what it is. I'll be here when you're ready Katniss."

She hangs up and I bury my face into my hands. This is why I don't do relationships; there is too much drama involved.

That night, I dream about Peeta…and Glimmer.

"And our new homecoming king and queen are Peeta Mellark and Glimmer Morris!"

The crowd at the game goes wild with cheers and applause. Peeta accepts his crown and Glimmer accepts her new, larger tiara. Then, they smile at each other and Peeta surprises everyone by kissing her full on the mouth and dipping her.

The crowd cheers even louder, but I feel sick to my stomach. I don't care that I lost to Glimmer, but the sight of her in a passionate embrace with Peeta makes me double over into the Astroturf on the football field and throw up.

It doesn't matter though. No one even notices me.

I run off the field, crying, until someone catches my arm. "You didn't really think you would win, did you?"

It's Cato, and he is smirking at me.

"I don't care about not being queen."

He laughs, but doesn't let go of my arm. "I meant that I hope you didn't actually think that you could win Peeta's heart. Glimmer will always be better for him than you will ever be."

I wake up in a cold sweat, the after images of the dreams still haunting my mind. I don't know what any of this means.

I get up and make my way down to the kitchen for a glass of water. The cold liquid helps me relax so I go back upstairs to my room.

As I lie back down, I let my mind wander to Peeta. Just the thought of his warm smile and crystal blue eyes makes me grin.

He is a really nice guy, and will make some girl a great boyfriend. I can imagine him buying flowers for her, holding her when she is sad, and kissing her gently.

My heart begins to ache, and that's when I realize it. I have feelings for Peeta.


	8. Taking A Chance

Peeta's POV:

The next two weeks go by quickly. Katniss and I get to kiss a few more times during rehearsal, and I still feel the electric spark between us each time. There is something different about Katniss lately. She has been more reserved around me than before. Not that she was ever especially open to me, but now she is even more closed off. I feel like I might have done something to offend her, but whenever I bring it up, she claims that I have done nothing wrong.

Before I know it, it is time for the homecoming dance. The dance is held each year in a local banquet hall. It is a nice place, without being overly fancy or anything.

As I get ready for the dance, I can't help but to think about what Katniss will look like tonight. I'm guessing that she didn't buy that red dress in the picture that Johanna sent me; it just isn't her.

I button up my dark blue dress shirt and straighten my black slacks before regarding myself in the mirror. I don't look half bad, and I can only hope that my small sliver of confidence will help me to ask Katniss to dance with me tonight.

The dance officially starts at seven, but the hall is already filled with people when I arrive at a quarter till. As a member of the homecoming court, I have to report to the back office for final instructions for our announcements tonight. I really don't understand why they have to announce us at the dance and at the game, but I guess tradition is tradition.

As Portia divides us up into our pairs, I suddenly notice that Katniss has yet to arrive. Everyone else is already there, including Glimmer, whose dress leaves little to the imagination.

I just barely repress the urge to roll my eyes at her as she adjusts her cleavage and wraps her arm around mine. "Hey Peeta, you look so hot in that shirt." Her left hand fiddles with the buttons on my shirt.

I gently remove her hand from my chest. "Thanks," is the only reply that I give her. She pouts when she realizes that I don't plan on complimenting her as well.

"Hey, I'm so sorry; I got here as soon as I could!"

I turn around and see my Katniss standing in the doorway. Her hair is curled loosely at the ends and it flows over her shoulders in gentle waves. She is wearing a purple dress that fits her nicely without being too showy. My gaze lingers at how the dress shows off her long legs and the hint of cleavage at her chest. In a word, she is breathtaking.

I literally cannot take my eyes off of her as Portia directs her to link arms with Cato so we can begin the announcements.

Jealousy rages throughout my body just because Cato gets to touch her and escort her and I don't.

Katniss' gaze meets mine for a second and she flashes me a small smile. I eagerly return it, still wishing I was the one she was holding on to.

Portia ushers us out into the main room and we are met with various cheers and rounds of applause.

Clove and Marvel are announced first. I barely listen to what the announcer is saying about them because I honestly do not care. Instead, I can only stare at Katniss and silently pray that I can hold her in my arms tonight.

Glimmer notices my gaze and her arm tightens around mine. "I don't know what your obsession with her is, but I can tell you that I know that she is most definitely a virgin and not gonna put out tonight. I, on the other hand, would love to go off somewhere with you and make you one very lucky guy."

Thankfully she was whispering when she said those things to me just now. I look at her in shock. "Not interested."

She raises one perfectly arched brow at me. "We will see about that…"

I roll my eyes at her and gaze back at Katniss as she is being announced.

"Katniss Everdeen is the daughter of Ella and the late Charles Everdeen. She is involved in archery and has been a part of our school musicals for the past three years. She is currently rehearsing the role of Juliet in our winter play of Romeo and Juliet. Katniss plans to attend college for environmental science."

Everyone applauds for Katniss, but no one claps as enthusiastically as I do. I see her blush a little bit after the applause dies down and Cato is announced.

A few minutes later, I step forward with Glimmer. She is announced as head cheerleader and being a part of the play as well.

"And now for her escort, Peeta Mellark, Peeta is the son of Sandra and Nicholas Mellark. He is involved in varsity baseball as second baseman and has been awarded the role of Romeo in the winter play. Peeta plans to go to college for business."

My gaze flickers to Katniss yet again and I can see her smiling brightly at me as she applauds. I beam back at her.

When the announcements finally cease, we are forced to slow dance with our pairs. I cringe as I loosely place my hands on Glimmer's waist. She wraps her arms around my neck and practically presses her breasts against my chest. I almost feel like I am going to vomit with her being so close to me.

Katniss and Cato are both dancing a respectable distance away from each other so I breathe a sigh of relief. All I need is for Cato to put the moves on my girl.

As the song finally ends, Glimmer leans up and whispers into my ear. "Come see me later if you change your mind about getting lucky tonight."

I wrench away from her, eager to get as far away from her as possible.

The dance actually begins now, when the DJ begins to play some popular pop songs. Finnick finds me and slaps me on the back. "Hey man! I saw Glimmer all over you on the dance floor. Is there something I should know about?"

I scowl at my friend even though I know he is just kidding. "She asked if I wanted to get 'lucky' tonight with her."

Finnick bursts out laughing. "Wow, you are probably one of the only guys here who would turn down that offer!"

"She is a walking STD. Besides, you know I only have eyes Katniss."

He nods. "I know. Speaking of Katniss, she looks good tonight. Go talk to her!"

I swallow the lump forming in my throat and make my way over to Katniss.

Katniss' POV:

In the past two weeks, I have been trying to figure out my feelings for Peeta. I have yet to tell anyone about my new found discovery that I actually like him. In fact, I'm not sure if I will ever tell anyone about it.

The dance has been interesting thus far. First of all, I was almost late because Johanna and Madge insisted on curling my hair. Then, I was greeted with the sight of Peeta looking absolutely amazing in his dress shirt and pants. He just looks so damn sexy that when I first saw him, I felt the flush of desire course through my veins.

When I saw Glimmer all over him during the slow dance, I felt like punching her or spilling punch all down the front of her hot pink dress.

Relief floods through me when the announcements are over and I get to go back to Johanna and Madge.

"Peeta cannot take his eyes off of you tonight!" Johanna is practically jumping up and down in excitement. I don't know why she has this obsession with Peeta and me, but lately, I kind of like the idea.

I shake my head; sure that he wasn't giving me any special attention. "He was probably staring at Glimmer's boobs the entire time.

"No, she's right," says Madge. "He barely looked at Glimmer and well…he is looking at you right now."

I whip around to see that she is correct. Peeta is staring straight at me while he walks in my direction.

Johanna nudges Madge. "Come on, let's go get some punch."

The two of them walk off a moment before Peeta reaches me. "Hey Katniss. You look, umm…really beautiful."

He faces flushes pink and I feel myself blush as well. "Thanks, you look really good too."

He smiles and his eyes brighten. "Thank you."

We stand together in awkward silence for a few minutes, but when a slow song begins, Peeta clears his throat and steps closer to me and holds out his hand. "May I have this dance?"

I laugh lightly and nod. "Sure."

He leads me onto the dance floor and that's when I start to get nervous. I really don't know the proper distance for slow dancing with a guy friend who you kind of, sort of, okay definitely, have feelings for.

I place my hands on his shoulders, too nervous to wrap them completely around his neck. Ever the gentleman, Peeta places his hands at my waist, neither too high nor too low.

As we begin to sway to the music, I start to relax a bit. I can feel the warmth radiating off of Peeta's body and it comforts me. I look up into his eyes and his lips form an easy smile.

"Glimmer offered herself up to me tonight."

I pull back a bit in shock. "What?"

He chuckles and pulls me back closer to him. "She told me that if I wanted to get 'lucky' tonight to come find her later."

Why does he feel the need to tell me this? I don't want to know about this. Maybe he realizes that I have feelings for him and is trying to let me down easy. But wait, if that is the case, then he is failing badly. "Oh, why are you telling me this?"

He frowns at me. "I don't know, just trying to make conversation. Wait! You don't think I will actually take her up on her offer do you?"

"Well…most guys would."

He pulls me closer still and he wraps his arms around my waist until our bodies are almost flush against each other. My heart starts to thump loudly in my chest at his close proximity. "I'm not most guys. I don't want Glimmer."

Part of me wants to ask who he does want, but I don't, because what if it isn't me? Instead, I smile at him. "That's good. She's such a bitch."

Peeta laughs. "She does seem to have it out for you."

"Don't worry; I sleep with one eye open at night," I joke with him.

The song ends and I reluctantly leave Peeta's arms. He follows me back to where Johanna and Madge are sitting and we join them.

Johanna raises her cup of punch in Peeta's direction. "Lookin' sharp Mellark!"

He grins and sits down. "Thanks, you look nice too."

She waves off his compliment. "Yeah, yeah, anyway, do you like Katniss' hair? Madge and I did it for her."

Peeta glances at me and then back at Johanna. "It's beautiful."

The four of us sit and chat for the majority of the dance. Eventually Johanna convinces me and Peeta to dance to some of the fast songs with her, and we end up having a pretty good time watching her crazy dance moves.

About a half an hour before the dance ends, Peeta and I slow dance together again. This time, I wrap my arms around his neck and he pulls me close as we sway to the music. His warm body comforts me and makes me feel safe and I begin to realize how deep my feelings for him are starting to grow.

After Gale and I had broken up, I swore that I wouldn't let guys run my life. I promised that I would put my family, friends, and school work before a romantic relationship. I had done so well with that too…until Peeta that is.

The song is coming to an end when Peeta whispers in my ear. "Do you wanna get out of here? Go someplace else?"

I gasp. He wants to go somewhere alone with me? Despite all of my reservations about relationships and my fears of having actual feelings for him, I decide to take a chance. "Yes, let's go."


	9. The Spark Ignites

Katniss' POV:

Technically, students are not supposed to leave the dance until it ends at eleven, so Peeta and I end up sneaking out.

Once we are in the clear, he leads me over to his car and opens the door for me. He is so cute when he acts like a gentleman.

He settles himself inside and with a brief smile at me, pulls out of the parking lot.

"Where are we going?"

Peeta pauses for a second before answering me. "Uh…have you ever been to Palmer Lake?"

He is taking me to Palmer Lake? Like the Palmer Lake? Where teens like to go to in order to make out and do other stuff? Palmer Lake is actually a popular picnic spot during the summer, but once fall hits, it is almost always teens that go there after dark to fool around. Does Peeta want to fool around with me?

"Katniss?"

I blink a few times and then realize that I haven't answered his question. "Oh, umm…once during the summer with my family."

His gaze flickers to mine for a moment before he goes back to concentrating on the road. "You've never been there at night?"

Why the hell is he asking me this? Is he trying to figure out how sexually experienced I am? "No, never at night. How about you?"

I see him smile as he takes a left turn to head over to the lake. "Yes, all the time."

Wow…just wow. He goes there all of the time? Who is he been taking there?

Before I can ask him, we pull up to the lake and Peeta drives part of the way around before parking his car.

I suddenly feel incredibly nervous to be out here with him like this. "How many girls have you taken out here?"

Peeta wrinkles his brow in confusion. "I haven't taken any girls out here before. Wait! Oh...no, you didn't really think that I took you out here for that did you?"

I shook my head. "I don't understand. Why do you come out here then?"

His lips tug into a small smile. "Can I show you?"

I nod and before I know it, he has opened up the door for me and helping me out.

Peeta walks closer to the lake, still holding my hand in his own. I am enjoying the warmth of his hand as he tugs me gently along with him.

We are near the water's edge when he stops and lets go of my hand to point up at the sky. I gasp at the sight of the clear night sky, scattered with stars.

"Wow."

"Isn't it beautiful? I come out here all of the time just to stargaze. This is the best place to see the stars."

He is correct. I have never seen so many stars in my entire life, it was magical. "I love it! Do you know any constellations?"

Peeta chuckles. "Yeah, you can say that. Stay here, I'll be right back."

I nod and watch as he heads back towards his car and retrieves a blanket from the back seat.

He shakes it out and lays it on the ground before sitting down. "Join me and I'll point some of them out to you."

I sit down next to him, making sure to leave a bit of space in between us. I was already anxious just being alone with him, if I was touching him, I'm sure I might have a nervous breakdown.

Peeta points out several constellations to me and then we make up a few of our own. "That looks like a turtle," I say as I point to a group of stars directly in front of us near the horizon."

He shakes his head and laughs. "No way! It looks like a mouse!"

"No it doesn't!"

We laugh harder and then, all of the sudden, we are silent. I look at Peeta and study his face the best that I can with only the moon illuminating us. He is smiling at me and I feel my heart flutter.

The breeze picks up for a moment and blows some of my hair over my face. I am struggling to get it off when I feel Peeta's warm hand gently brush it back behind my ear.

I gasp lightly and when I look up into his eyes and I can see that they are trained on my lips. I feel a sense of déjà vu as I remember the last time he looked at my lips like that…just when he was about to kiss me.

Peeta leans in and I close my eyes, trying to remember that this isn't acting anymore…this is real.

I feel his lips press against mine and the now familiar spark of fire ignites inside of me. As his lips move against my own, the fire spreads further. I kiss him back, and I hear a small noise of surprise from Peeta. I guess maybe he didn't think that I was going to reciprocate his kiss.

It's as if everything I am feeling for him pours out into our kiss as I move my arms to wrap around his neck and pull him closer to me. He responds by threading his fingers through my hair and pressing his lips more aggressively against my own.

I let out a small moan and when I feel Peeta's tongue dart out and trace my lips, I part them eagerly. He deepens the kiss, our tongues touching tentatively at first, and then more and more urgently.

I feel like my entire body is on fire now, but in a very good way. Desire flows through my like molten lava and I can't help but to think that it never felt this good with Gale. And Peeta and I were only kissing; I can only imagine what going further would feel like.

Peeta's POV:

I am kissing Katniss Everdeen and it isn't for that damned play. No, I am actually kissing her and she is kissing me back. I feel like I am in heaven right now. Her perfect lips feel so amazing against my own and what I feel with our tongues dueling together like this is indescribable.

I am beginning to get aroused by what is occurring and I silently beg my cock not to make itself known. Now is not the time to scare her away, not when I've gotten so far.

My cell phone vibrates in my pocket and it startles me enough that I break the kiss.

I look at Katniss and see that she looks as disheveled as I feel. Her once perfect curls are a tangled mess thanks to the wind and my fingers and her lips are swollen from our kissing.

My cell phone goes off again and I groan and reach into my pocket to retrieve it.

Are you with Katniss? Johanna has been looking for her everywhere!

Shit, Johanna must have found Finnick when she couldn't find Katniss. My next text confirms that.

I sure hope Katniss is with you, I can't find her.

I quickly send a text to Johanna and Finnick telling them not to worry about Katniss; that she is here with me.

"Who was it?"

I turn to face Katniss again. "Finnick and then Johanna, wondering where you are."

She groans. "Johanna was gonna give me a ride home. I should have told her before we left."

I shrug. "Yeah, I bet you have a gazillion texts from her."

"Yeah, we better get out of here anyway…it's late."

I nod in agreement, but I would have easily spent the entire night with her just kissing beneath the stars.

As we are walking back to the car, Katniss points to the sky. "Look! A shooting star!"

Sure enough, a star streaks in the sky above us. I make a silent wish that Katniss Everdeen would one day be mine.

I wonder if she made a wish as well. "Did you make a wish?"

She smiles at me and her beauty takes my breath away. "Yes."

I lean closer to her. "What did you wish for?"

Katniss shakes her head. "I can't tell you that, or it won't come true."

I chuckle at her before opening the car door for her once again.

She is silent on the way home and it worries me. Maybe she was upset that I kissed her. I mean, she seemed to be into it at the time, but maybe she was having regrets. I want to ask her about it, but I just can't seem to get myself to voice those words.

When I pull up to her house, I don't know what to do. I would gladly engage in another make out session with her, but I'm not sure how she would respond to that.

"Thanks for taking me out there and showing me the stars." She is smiling at me.

I smile back. "You're welcome. Do you want me to walk you to your door?"

She shakes her head and I am immediately disappointed. "That's okay, I'll see you tomorrow."

I can't help myself from leaning over and giving her a kiss on the cheek before she leaves. "Goodnight Katniss."

"Goodnight Peeta."

I watch her as she makes her way into her house and with one last wave in my direction, she closes the door.

I am just pulling out of her driveway when my phone rings. It's Finnick and I briefly consider not answering it before curiosity gets the best of me.

"Hello?"

"Where did you take Katniss? You only said she was with you, not where you were."

I sigh; of course Finnick would want to know about my adventure with Katniss. "We went to Palmer Lake."

There is a brief pause before he practically shouts in my ear. "PALMER LAKE?! Did you finally get laid?"

I chuckle lightly at my friend. "No, nothing like that. I took her to go see the stars."

Finnick makes a loud gagging noise. "That is so cheesy! You can't tell me that you went to Palmer Lake with the girl you have been after for years and not gotten to at least second base."

"Well, we were kissing when you decided to text me!"

I can practically see him shaking his head at me. "I know you, and I know that there is no way you would have taken things any further than that even if I didn't text you."

He's right, I'm too nervous around Katniss when it comes to things like that. Hell, I almost didn't even deepen our kiss until I heard her moan. "At least I got to kiss her, for real this time."

"Yeah, well next time at least try to feel her up, okay?'

"Look, I don't even know how she really feels about me; I need to figure that out first."

Finnick lets out a grunt in response and then hangs up. That bastard.

When I finally get home, it's after midnight. Thankfully, my parents are already sleeping. Dave, on the other hand, is there waiting for me.

"Why are you home so late? The dance ended at eleven."

"Why do you care?"

He shrugs and when I step into the light of the living room, he smirks. "Nice lip gloss…"

I immediately wipe at my lips and my hand gets covered in pink gloss. I apparently hadn't noticed or hadn't cared that Katniss was wearing lip gloss when we kissed. "Fuck…"

Dave rolled his eyes. "Amateur move there, not wiping off the lip gloss after you were done kissing whomever you were kissing."

I shake my head and start to move towards the stairway. Dave blocks my path. "Who was it? I hear that the head cheerleader with the big tits is into you, was it her?"

I close my eyes and somehow refrain from punching my brother in the face. "No, it wasn't her."

"Who then?" He looks at me for a moment before his face lights up. "It was Katniss, wasn't it?"

I feel my face burn as I blush. I nod because I know that he won't let it go until I tell him. "Yes, now can I go to bed?"

I don't wait for him to answer. Instead, I push past him and run into my room.

As I lie down in bed, my mind replays the kiss with Katniss over and over again. I go through every detail, not wanting to forget anything. I recall how soft and warm her lips were, how her silky strands of hair felt against my fingers, how she tasted like fruit punch mixed with a flavor that was pure Katniss, and finally how my entire body felt like it might explode with desire, just by kissing her.

Now the only thing I need to do is figure out how she feels about me.


	10. Homecoming

Katniss' POV:

After Peeta drops me off, I saunter up to my room, unable to wipe the grin from my face. My mind replays our kiss over and over again as I get undressed and get ready for bed. I was half angry at Finnick for interrupting our passionate make out session and half relieved that he had done so. If he hadn't, I don't know how far we would have gone. As much as I desperately want to go further with Peeta, it would be too fast and too soon. Besides, we aren't even dating yet.

That doesn't stop the warm feeling my body gets as I think about our kiss though. It was amazing and I hope that Peeta feels the same way about it. In fact, that was what I wished for, that Peeta would feel the same way about me that I do about him.

My cell phone dings and I sigh before reading the text message. Johanna had sent me like ten messages while I was away and I was sure that it would be from her.

It wasn't. It was from Gale of all people.

Who were you at Palmer Lake with tonight?

What the hell? Was he stalking me or something? Gale and I had dated for a few months back when I was a sophomore and he was a senior in high school. He was my first boyfriend and first kiss and we had fooled around a little bit, but that was it. I just couldn't see him as more than a friend. Now, he will occasionally text me to see how I am doing, but this is just weird.

How do you know I was there?

I wait for his response, hoping that he hadn't seen Peeta and I kiss.

I drive close to there on my way home from work. I saw you sitting in the passenger seat of someone's car, waiting to turn down by the lake. Who was it?

I frown at my phone before answering.

It's really none of your business.

Who does he think he is anyway?

Did you fuck him?

I ignore his last text, choosing not to answer such an absurd question. Besides, I don't care what Gale thinks anymore.

Everyone has the day off of school in order to 'prepare' for the homecoming game tonight. All I want to do is sleep and/or daydream about Peeta all day, but when the afternoon rolls around, Johanna and Madge force me to the salon downtown to get my hair and makeup professionally done for the game.

When I am fully dressed and ready, I look at myself in the mirror. The person staring back at me does not look like Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is plain and boring; this girl is radiant and beautiful.

My dark blue dress fits me perfectly and my hair is in an updo of tight ringlets with a few framing my face as well. As I look at my reflection, Johanna and Madge come up behind me and Madge carefully situates my tiara on my head.

"Looking good!" Johanna gives me a thumbs up.

I turn and smile at my friends. "Thanks."

When it is time for the game, I get to sit nervously on the bleachers with my friends until it is almost half time. I guess I didn't think it would be so cold, but it is. I am shivering in the crisp evening air in nothing but a dress with very thin straps to cover my body.

I wrap my arms around my body to try to coax some warmth into me. Then, I feel the soft fabric of a jacket being laid across my shoulders.

I look up and see Peeta smiling down at me. "Here Katniss, take my jacket."

He sits down next to me in his suit, minus the jacket of course. My breath catches in my throat at how handsome and well…hot he looks. The suit is tailored perfectly to his body and even though I cannot see them directly, I can determine the outline of his biceps through his shirt sleeves.

"You…you don't have to give me your jacket. I'll be okay." I try to shrug off the garment and return it to him but he stops me by placing his hand firmly on my shoulder.

"You were shivering. I'm okay with what I have on."

I smile at him and nod, thankful for his kindness and the warmth that his jacket is bringing me.

I thought that it would be awkward to see Peeta again after our kiss, but it isn't. We are having fun together, watching the game and waiting to be announced at half time.

When we go down to the field to be announced, I see that my mother and Prim are standing with the rest of the court's families. I wave at them and they smile and wave back.

Portia lines us up with our partners and I reluctantly take Cato's sweaty arm. Since he plays football, he is still in his uniform instead of a suit like Peeta is wearing.

Cato gives me a once over and nods. "Wow, I never knew you were so…sexy."

I roll my eyes at him. "Try not to stare at me with that look in your eyes while our families are only a few feet away, okay?"

He blinks a few times at me, but doesn't say anything else. I don't know what he was thinking trying to flirt with me anyway. He was looking at me like he wanted to jump me and it was unnerving me.

The court is announced and we stand side by side with our partners waiting for the game announcer to reveal the king and queen. I wait to hear Glimmer or Clove's name for queen and Cato or Peeta's for king.

"And this year's winners of the East Haven High homecoming king and queen are…Peeta Mellark and Katniss Everdeen!"

No. There is no way that I just won. I'm not surprised one bit that Peeta won, but me? I must have misheard.

Peeta walks up to accept his crown and I feel Cato let go of my arm. "Go Katniss, what are you waiting for?"

I swallow and notice that everyone is looking at me. Glimmer is staring at me with such intense hatred that I feel like her eyes are boring holes into my skull.

I slowly make my way down to where Portia is standing with Peeta. Portia smiles at me and carefully places the larger tiara in front of my small one on my head.

A thousand cameras are taking pictures of me, first by myself and then with Peeta. The photographer tells us to do something cute for the camera and Peeta kisses my cheek. I feel my face flush and I know that the picture will reveal my blush to everyone.

The next few moments are a whirlwind of hugs, congratulations, and photographs. My mind feels like I am stuck in some other world, surreal and not like anything I have ever experienced before.

Peeta's POV:

I am over the moon right now. I never thought I would care so much about being homecoming king, but there is no way that I would have been able to handle someone else being king with Katniss being queen.

Katniss looks like a deer in the headlights with everyone taking our picture. She is clearly in shock that she won, but I hope that she is happy as well.

When I first saw her tonight, shivering on the bleachers, I was struck at how utterly gorgeous she looked. Her gown was fitted to her body just right and her beauty took my breath away.

I decided not to bring up our kiss with her, at least not tonight. I don't want her to feel any pressure from me in any way. Although I want to see where things will go with her, I am afraid of scaring her away.

After half time is over, Katniss and I head back to our seat with Johanna and Madge on the bleachers. Delly has joined them as well and when she sees me, she wraps me into a tight hug.

"I'm so happy for you Peeta!"

When she lets me go, I see that Katniss' eyes are dark and she is flicking angry glances at Delly. Could that be jealousy I see in her eyes?

"Delly…you know Katniss, right?"

Delly looks over at Katniss and immediately pulls her into a hug as well. "Of course I do! Congrats!"

Katniss looks surprised at my blond friend's overly bubbly ways, but I think she now understands that Delly is just friendly, and there is nothing more than friendship between us.

Johanna and Madge are next to hug and congratulate us. Johanna whispers something in Katniss' ear, and by the way she blushes, I know it was something inappropriate.

"So, are you all coming to Finnick's party after this?" Delly smiles at all of us.

Katniss shakes her head, but then Johanna nudges her and whispers something into her ear again, and she nods instead.

I smile at Katniss. "I'll be there too."

I am secretly hoping that I can get more alone time at Finnick's party to spend with Katniss. I would love to have some more passionate kisses with her, or just even be around her by ourselves in general.

A few hours later, after our team has won the game and I have gone home for a minute to get changed for the party, my phone dings in my pocket.

I pick it up to see a new text from Katniss.

Johanna and Madge can't make it to the party. Can you take me?

Can I take her? Really? I would happily take her wherever she wants in the entire world if I could.

Sure, I'll pick you up in ten minutes.

I suddenly begin to get nervous about the night ahead of me. Without Johanna or Madge being there, Katniss will probably hang out with me the entire time. Not that I mind that, but it makes me a bit nervous, almost like it's a date or something.

I pick up Katniss at her house and when she gets into my car, she is still wearing her makeup from the game and her hair is still up. She has changed into a pair of dark jeans and a hunter green shirt that looks amazing on her.

"Hey, thanks for taking me." She gives me a small smile before buckling her seat belt.

I smile back at her, somehow refraining from leaning over and kissing her. All I have been able to think about since last night is our kiss and how I want nothing more than to be able to kiss her again, and not just for the play.

As I am driving, she is silent. I ask her several times if she is okay, but she always says that she is just a bit tired.

I can't help but to think that she is nervous by her body signals. She keeps fiddling with her seat belt and wiping her hands on her pants, like her palms are sweaty or something. Why is she nervous? Could she possibly be anxious about our kiss last night as well? Maybe she wants to tell me never to kiss her again but she is afraid of hurting my feelings. The thought of that being the case makes me depressed, so I try to force it out of my mind.

We arrive a minute later and Katniss is out of the car before I can even get my seat belt off. Yep, there is definitely something wrong with her and I can't figure out what it is.


	11. Bring It On

Katniss' POV:

Why did I let Johanna convince me to come to this stupid party? Oh, that's right, because she insists on trying to play matchmaker between me and Peeta.

I wanted to refuse, but the possibility of being alone with Peeta and kissing him again was just too much to pass up. That, and Johanna had basically threatened bodily harm if I did not go.

I had been hoping that she and/or Madge would accompany me, but Johanna said that I needed alone time with Peeta.

Yep, so that's how I ended up at this party at Finnick's house with Peeta.

As we walk up to the house, I can't help but to wonder about Finnick's parents. "Umm…do Finnick's parents know about this party?"

Peeta laughs. "They go away every weekend, and they hardly care what Finnick does when they aren't around."

"Oh okay then."

The party is in full swing when we enter the living room. I swear that half of the school is at the party, already dancing and drinking beer from plastic cups.

Finnick spies Peeta and calls him over. "King Peeta! Over here!" He motions for him to come over and then he sees me. "You too Queen Katniss!"

I roll my eyes. Finnick seems like he is already buzzed from the alcohol.

I feel like turning around and just walking back home, but Peeta takes my hand and pulls me with him over to where Finnick is standing.

I love feeling Peeta's warm hand laced with mine, and I find myself saddened when he lets it go.

"Hey Finnick, nice party!" Peeta nods at his friend and smiles.

"Thanks man! And how are you two doing?" He gives a small smirk at us, making it seem like he thinks there is something going on between us.

I answer for myself. "I'm fine. I'm going to go get something to drink. Have anything besides beer?"

Finnick sighs. "Yeah, there's some sodas in the fridge, help yourself."

I turn to Peeta, whose blue eyes are regarding me in confusion. I briefly wonder what he is so confused about, but decide against actually asking him. "You want anything?"

He shakes his head, so I leave his side and head towards the back of the house where I think the kitchen might be.

After pushing through hoards of people, I find the kitchen and make my way over to the fridge to grab a can of soda. Just as I am closing the refrigerator door, I hear someone talking behind me.

"Well, well…look who it is."

I turn around to see Glimmer and her little minion, Clove glaring at me with their arms crossed. Glimmer is wearing a tube top and booty shorts and Clove is in a leather mini skirt and a camisole.

I smirk at them. "You two realize that it's fall right?" I nod my head towards their clothing, or lack thereof.

Glimmer scowls at me. "It's a party Katniss, you are supposed to dress up."

I shake my head at them. "Well, I didn't realize dressing up involved looking like a prostitute, forgive me."

"Well, at least we don't look like frumpy, old hags," Clove says.

I roll my eyes at them and go to leave the room, but they block my way. "We aren't done with you yet." Glimmer's eyes flicker with hatred.

I sigh and put my hands on my hips. These two girls are frustrating me very quickly. "Well, get on with it then."

Glimmer gets right up in my face and points her finger at me. "You did not deserve to win homecoming queen! It was always meant to be me and Peeta!"

What is with this girl? It's more than obvious that she wants Peeta and the very thought of her being involved with him makes me want to vomit, preferably all over her red tube top. "I'm sorry, but what's done is done. Try to get on with your life, okay?"

Glimmer is searing with rage, her entire face turns red in anger and she is clenching her fists tightly at her sides. "You little whore! You know what? I don't care if you won queen; it will be me who ends up with Peeta! Do you hear me? He totally wants me!"

Yeah sure, that's why he turned her down. I am beyond sick and tired of Glimmer by this point, so I decide to fill her in on what happened between Peeta and me last night. I get right up into her face. "Oh yeah? He wants you? Is that why he took me to Palmer Lake last night?"

Okay, so maybe I left out the details, but I don't want her to know everything. I want her to think that he took me out there for more than just stargazing and making out. I want her to leave him alone.

By the time I finish speaking, Glimmer has backed up and both her and Clove's mouths are hanging wide open in shock.

Finally, Glimmer blinks a few times and glares at me again. "You're lying! There's no way he took you to Palmer Lake."

I shrug nonchalantly. I got to her and that's all that matters right now. "If you don't believe me then why are you so upset?"

She sneers at me. "Well…well prove it then!"

How exactly am I supposed to do that? "Umm…how am I supposed to prove we were at Palmer Lake?"

Clove whispers something in Glimmer's ear. Glimmer smirks at me. "Find a way to prove that he wants you, and I'll let it go."

I think to myself for a moment, trying to come up with an idea on how to prove something to Glimmer that I am not one hundred percent sure is true myself. Sure, it seemed like he wanted me last night, but maybe I was mistaken and he just got caught up in the moment or something. I decide that I will have to go for the surprise factor and hope that it works in my favor.

"Fine. Follow me," I say as I make my way back to the living room.

I find Peeta with a group of guys, listening to one of them talk about something.

I hesitate, getting more and more nervous about what I am about to do. Glimmer shoves me forward a bit. "Get to it," she hisses in my ear.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before heading straight for Peeta. He notices me coming towards him and smiles. As I reach him, I pull him down by his shirt collar and kiss him full on the mouth.

I hear gasps and cheers alike, but I don't care. I am determined to get Glimmer away from Peeta in any way that I can.

The familiar spark of fire hits me and I instinctively pull Peeta closer, wrapping my arms around his neck. And since I need to make this kiss as convincing as possible, I deepen the kiss by thrusting my tongue into his mouth.

I hear his muffled moan as his tongue eagerly sweeps against mine. The cheers and catcalls are getting louder now, but my brain begins to filter them out and only concentrate on the kiss.

After a few moments of hot and heavy kissing, I break away from him. I see Glimmer and Clove angrily stalk off into the hallway and I know that I have won.

Peeta's POV:

What the hell just happened to me? One minute, I am standing here in Finnick's living room talking to some other guys on the baseball team, and the next thing I know, Katniss comes over and gives me the most mind-blowing kiss ever.

When she pulls away, I see her gaze flicker over to the back of the room. She grins before turning back to me.

"What was that all about?"

She gives me an innocent look. "What was what all about?"

This girl is going to be the death of me, I swear. "You just came up to me and kissed me for no reason and you don't think that that requires an explanation?"

She frowns at me and I realize that she might not want to talk about it in front of all of these people. I swiftly pull her down the hallway and into one of the bedrooms so that we can talk in private.

"Katniss…"

"I'm sorry Peeta. I'm just so…I don't know!" She slumps down on the bed and hangs her head.

I sit down next to her and wrap my arm gently around her shoulders. "What happened?"

She looks back up at me and bites her lip. "I went to go get a soda and Glimmer and Clove cornered me. Glimmer yelled at me for winning queen and said that even though I won that, that she would be the one to win you."

That little bitch! How dare she yell at my Katniss like that! But wait, that really didn't explain the whole kiss thing. "Okay…"

Katniss' gray eyes flicker with anger as she speaks again. "And I got so angry at the thought of her being with you. I was so mad that I told her that you don't want her…that you want me."

I gasp loudly. Katniss actually said that to Glimmer? Wait, why was she mad about that? Could she actually have some sort of feelings for me? I need to figure out exactly what happened, my heart is about to beat right out of my chest. "Wow, umm…what did she say to that?"

Katniss sighs and looks away from me. "She told me to prove it. I was hoping that you would be too surprised to push me away or get upset. Well, it worked. She left the room looking really angry."

Why would she ever think that I would be upset by her kissing me? She must not know what kind of effect she has on me. I need to clear things up with her. "Katniss, look at me."

She doesn't move so I take her face in my hands and turn her towards me. "Why did you get so angry about Glimmer wanting to be with me?'

She closes her eyes for a moment, and when she reopens them, I see that she is scared.

"Tell me…please?"

Katniss sighs. "I don't want you to be with her. I…I want you to be with me."

My heart soars at her words. Pure joy floods my body and I want nothing more than to just kiss her senseless, but she has turned away again.

I tilt her face up towards mine again and smile at her. "Don't you know how I feel about you?"

I drop my hand and she shakes her head. "No…"

"Katniss…I want to be with you too. I have for quite some time now."

Her eyes light up and the corners of her lips turn up into a smile. "Really?"

I tuck a piece of her hair behind her ears. "Yes really. I thought you knew that."

Katniss shakes her head. "No, I thought that you just got caught up in the moment last night and that now you probably regretted it. That's why I was acting so weird. I felt awkward around you after what happened."

"No Katniss, I don't regret it. I really like you…a lot." I want to tell her that I am in love with her and have been for a while now, but I don't want to scare her off.

"Kiss me Peeta," she demands.

I respond immediately, crushing my mouth to hers. She kisses me back with equal fervor and when I trail my tongue across her lips, she parts them for me. With every swipe of our tongues, I feel the warmth of desire spread further throughout my body. There is nothing that can ruin this moment between us.


	12. The Past

Katniss' POV:

Peeta's lips are on mine and all I can think and feel is pure bliss. He does want me after all, a fact he is currently making very clear as he pushes me back gently onto the bed and lays his body on top of mine.

I feel the warmth of his body pressing me into the bed and desire starts to pool low in my belly. His lips leave mine and I whimper in protest before I feel him place wet, open-mouthed kisses down my neck.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this," Peeta says against my skin.

I smile to myself, threading my fingers into his hair and bringing his mouth back to mine.

All of the sudden, the door flies open and a drunk couples stumbles in, not even noticing our presence as they begin to undress each other.

Peeta and I laugh and hastily leave the room. He takes my hand and laces his fingers with mine.

We make our way back to the living room and Finnick finds us right away. His gaze flickers to our joined hands and he looks confused. "Where have you two been? Why are you holding hands?"

Peeta chuckled and then put his arm around me. "Katniss and I are together now. That is, if that's okay with you Katniss…"

I grin at him and nod. "It's more than okay."

Finnick wrinkles his nose at us. "You two are grossing me out with your cheesy romantic stuff." He stumbles away, presumably to get more beer.

Peeta and I leave a few minutes later and he drives me home. Once we reach my house, he shuts off the engine and looks over at me. "I'm so happy I get to be with you. You're perfect Katniss."

I feel myself blush. "Thanks, but I'm far from perfect."

He shakes his head and then pulls me to him for a kiss. I feel so alive when he kisses me, alive and happy, deliriously happy. This is the kind of joy I haven't felt in years.

When Peeta pulls away, he smiles. "Can I call you tomorrow?"

I laugh lightly at him. "You don't have to ask; of course you can call me."

I practically skip my way up to the house and quietly enter as to not awake my mother or sister. Once I am alone in my room, I flop onto my bed with the biggest grin on my face. Peeta and I are together and everything feels so perfect.

My cell phone buzzes and it brings me back to reality. Groaning, I grab the phone and answer it without bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Hey Catnip."

It's Gale, he is the only one who ever called me by that name. I wonder why he is calling and I have to literally fight off the urge to just hang up on him.

I sigh into the phone. "What do you want Gale?"

"Can't a guy just call to see how his favorite girl is doing?"

What the hell? His favorite girl? "Not when I haven't been your girl for over a year now."

He sighs. "I miss you…a lot."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before I start doing anything rash like yelling at him over the phone. "Look Gale, it didn't work out between us, I'm sorry."

"Is there someone else? Wait, is it that guy I saw you driving Palmer Lake with?"

Might as well tell him, maybe he will let this sudden fantasy of getting back together with me go. "Yes, I'm dating someone now."

I hear him groan and mutter 'fuck' under his breath. "Who is it?"

"Why does it matter?"

"I want to know who you finally gave it up to, since apparently I wasn't good enough."

I bite my lip to keep from screaming at him. He was always blunt, but this is getting ridiculous. "For your information, I didn't 'give it up' to anyone. I just started dating this guy."

"Can't you at least have the decency to tell me his name?"

I punch my pillow in frustration, I should have known better than to answer my phone without looking at the caller ID first. "Fine, his name is Peeta, happy now?"

There is a pause before Gale answers me. "Peeta? Peeta Mellark? What does he have that I don't?!"

I am beyond angry right now, so I decide to give Gale the low blow he deserves right now. I remember Johanna telling me about the rumor of Peeta having a 'huge cock' and I decide that this will be my way of getting Gale to leave me alone.

"He's got a huge cock," I say, stifling the giggles that threaten to overcome me.

Gale doesn't say anything for a minute; I can practically see him fuming at my words. Gale is 'average sized' at best and I know that telling him about how my current man is 'larger' than him will drive him crazy. Not that I actually know the size of Peeta's package, but Gale doesn't know that.

"I thought you said that you didn't fuck him yet."

"Just because I didn't sleep with him doesn't mean I don't know how big his dick is. I never slept with you either and I know how big you…aren't."

That last statement seems to have struck a nerve because I hear Gale swear and then something crashes on his side of the phone. "What happened to you? You were always so sweet and innocent when I was dating you. This is Johanna's doing, isn't it? She corrupted you!"

I laugh out loud at his statement. "Life happened, Gale. I have to go now, kindly leave me alone."

I hit the end button on my phone and bury my face into my pillow and scream. Just when I think things are going my way, the past has to come and fuck it all up again.

Peeta's POV:

I feel like I am on cloud nine as I am working in the bakery the next morning. Katniss and I are together and everything feels perfect. I think I actually pinched myself last night to make sure that I wasn't dreaming.

I am working at the counter stocking the front display case when my father comes up front.

"Who are you and what have you done with my son?"

I look up at him in confusion. His hair and apron are covered in flour and he's smiling at me like he knows some big secret. "What are you talking about?"

He chuckles lightly. "You were humming as you worked and you've had this big, goofy grin on your face all morning."

I feel myself blush; I hadn't even noticed either of those things. "Oh."

He raises his brow at me. "Oh? You can't tell me that you are this happy about winning homecoming king, it's got to be more than that."

I can't help but to smile again. "I have a new girlfriend."

My dad grins at me. "That's great. You haven't had a girlfriend for a while. What's her name?"

I sigh, realizing that my dad was going to pump me for details. "Katniss, you know, the girl that won homecoming queen?"

He nods. "She's pretty; you should bring her over sometime for dinner."

My eyes go wide when he says this. My mother isn't exactly the easiest person to get along with; I am still convinced that she tried to poison my last girlfriend when we had her over for dinner. "Don't you remember what happened the last time we had one of my girlfriends over for dinner?"

He shakes head. "Your mom didn't know there were peanuts in that stuff she bought, she didn't mean to make her sick."

I roll my eyes. "Right…anyway, I'll think about it."

My dad goes to leave, but then turns on his heels and comes back over to me with a serious look on his face. "Umm…I just want you to know that I have a few boxes of condoms in my bedside table…whenever you need them."

I feel my face burn in embarrassment. "Dad! I...I mean…I'm not…"

He chuckles at me. "It's okay son, you are going to be eighteen next month, I expect that if you aren't already having sex, that you will be shortly."

I don't know what to say to that so I just keep my mouth shut and watch as my dad walks back into the back area of the bakery.

I have just finished putting all of the muffins out when the door chimes, signaling that a customer has arrived.

I look up to see that Clove, of all people, is here. She sees me and smiles. "Hey Peeta!"

I give her a wary glance. Clove and I aren't exactly friends, although we aren't enemies either. "Hi Clove, how can I help you?"

She walks closer to me, no longer smiling. "How could you?"

I blink at her; I have no idea what she is talking about. "Huh?"

Clove sneers at me, and even though I am much taller than her, I feel almost afraid. "How could you choose Katniss over Glimmer?"

Wow, is she really stalking me at my family's bakery to ask me about Glimmer? "Look, I really like Katniss a lot. I don't know Glimmer that well…"

She cuts me off. "You never even gave her a chance! You were all stuck up on Juliet…what if Glimmer had gotten that part? Would you have chosen her instead?"

I really have no clue what is going on here. Clove obviously has no idea that I have loved Katniss for years now; she thinks that I like her because we play Romeo and Juliet together.

I sigh. "I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt Glimmer, but I've liked Katniss for a long time now, I'm happy with her."

Clove looks murderous, and even though there is a counter between us, I have the sudden urge to take a step back. "I think you should reconsider. Katniss is a virgin; there is no way she will put out for you."

I can't help but to laugh at that. I doubt Clove actually knows the status of Katniss' virginity and I really don't care anyway. "I don't care if she is a virgin."

She looks at me in shock. "But, but…Glimmer says that all of the guys say that she gives the best blowjobs!"

I laugh even harder. "I've never heard anyone say that she gives good blowjobs, at least no one on the baseball team has mentioned it. Look Clove, I understand that you are just trying to help out your friend, but honestly, I'm not going to leave Katniss for Glimmer."

"Fine, it's your loss!" Clove spins around and stalks out of the bakery.

A moment after Clove leaves, Dave comes through from the back. "Did I hear someone mention blowjobs?"

I swear my day can't get anymore awkward… "Yeah, Clove was here to try to convince me to leave Katniss for Glimmer."

Dave scrunches up his face in thought for a moment. "Clove and Glimmer…oh, Glimmer is the blond cheerleader with the big tits and Clove is her short, brunette friend, right?"

I nod. "Yeah, apparently Glimmer brags about being great at giving blowjobs or something."

My brother taps his finger on his chin in mock thought. "Hmm…that's interesting. Wait a second! You're dating Katniss now?!"

"Yeah, as of last night I am. Glimmer saw us kissing and is upset or something now."

Dave grins. "Good for you bro! As for Glimmer, she can come suck my cock any time she wants…"

I punch him in the shoulder. "Yeah, thanks for that," I say sarcastically.

"Anything for you little bro!"

As Dave walks to the back again, I can't help but to think that my life could be a sitcom right now.


	13. It Never Ends

Katniss' POV:

On Monday morning, Peeta picks me up to take me to school. I don't even have enough time to put my seat belt on before he leans over and kisses my cheek.

"I missed you."

I give him a brief smile, but shake my head lightly. "You just saw me on Friday night."

Peeta's warm hand cups my face as he smiles at me. "Two days without you was too long for me."

He gently pulls me to him and presses his lips against my own. I let myself get lost in his kiss for a few moments before pulling away. "Come on or we will be late for school."

We walk into school together, hand in hand. We are greeted by a few stares and whispers, but when I try to pull away, Peeta just grasps my hand tighter. "Let them talk, I just want to be with you."

I nod back at him and allow him to give me a brief kiss before homeroom starts.

When I arrive at Study Hall, Johanna is on me from the moment I walk into the door. "Why didn't you tell me?! I had to hear about you and Romeo from all of the rumors flying around the school!"

"Settle down, I wanted to wait until I saw you today to tell you. Peeta and I are dating now, that is true. Anything else you heard is not."

Johanna narrows her eyes at me. "You never even told me that you have feelings for him! Well, not officially. I only knew because I could see it all over your face when he was around you. Now, tell me exactly how this all happened!"

Somehow, I convince her to sit at one of the tables so that I could tell her what happened. Madge was out sick for the day, so I only got to explain things to Johanna. I told her how Glimmer and Clove cornered me and how angry I got at the thought of Peeta dating Glimmer.

When I get to the part about me going up and kissing Peeta in front of Glimmer, Johanna stops me.

"Wait, you're telling me that you actually just went up and starting making out with Peeta in front of the whole party?!"

I feel a blush creep up my skin as I nod at my friend. She is as shocked as I felt when I actually did it. "Yes, I did."

Johanna grins widely at me. "Well, I guess I've finally rubbed off on you a bit! Good for you showing up Glimmer like that and taking possession of your man!"

I have to laugh at her. "He wasn't even 'my man' at the time, I just realized that I wanted him to be, and apparently he wanted that too."

"Well of course he did! Romeo has been after you for quite some time now; you were just too blind to see it."

I'm not one hundred percent sure what Johanna meant by him being after me for 'quite some time'. I have never really even talked to him since this school year.

I brush off her comment and steer the conversation in a different direction for the rest of the class period.

Later on in the day, I am changing for gym class when Annie Cresta, a quiet, but friendly girl in my grade, comes up to me. "Why are Glimmer and Clove glaring at you like that?" She motions over to the side of her and I look up to see that they are staring daggers at me.

I sigh loudly as I finish putting on my T-shirt. "They are angry because they think I stole Peeta Mellark from Glimmer."

Annie's dark eyebrows rise at my admission. "Well, I know that's not true. Peeta is too nice of a guy to ever want a bitch like Glimmer."

I smile at her. "Thanks Annie."

Today we are playing volleyball in gym class, I'm okay at the sport, but it just doesn't entice me the way that archery does.

I end up on the opposite team of Glimmer and Clove, and I can practically feel their eyes burning holes into my head the entire time. I try not to look at them. Why should I care if they hate me or not? Peeta chose me, not Glimmer. It's not my fault that he doesn't want to be with that bitch-faced slut.

I try to tell myself that I deserve him, that I am worthy of him. I'm not quite sure if it is working yet, but it's a start at least.

We are halfway through the game when Glimmer spikes the ball directly at me. I'm not quite quick enough to move, so the ball slams into my face. Pain shatters in my nose, and I lean over, dripping blood all over the shiny gym floor.

The entire class is quiet for a moment. Then I hear Glimmer shout out. "It was an accident! I swear!"

Yeah, I'm so sure it was an accident…

Annie comes over to me a moment later. "Are you okay Katniss?"

I nod, but when I lift my head back up, an audible gasp passes from Annie's lips. "Your nose is bleeding pretty badly; let's get you to the nurse."

The gym teacher takes one look at me and agrees, but I shake my head and storm past them, over to where Glimmer is standing, looking less than concerned about my bloody nose.

"You little bitch! You did that on purpose!"

Glimmer looks shocked that I actually confronted her. She blinks her overly made up eyes for a moment before speaking. "I did not! How dare you accuse me of such a thing you…you slut!"

I am about to pull my fist back and punch Glimmer in the face. I figure it will be proper payback if I give her a bloody nose as well. Unfortunately the gym teacher pulls us apart and threatens detention if we don't calm down immediately.

I go to the nurse who helps me stop the bleeding, and hands me some ice for my face. Needless to say, I am in a pretty shitty mood for the rest of the day.

Peeta's POV:

When I see Katniss' bruised face, I feel several emotions bubbling up inside of me at once. First, I am concerned for her, she must be in pain. Second, I am angry at the person that did this to her beautiful face. Finally, I feel the need to protect her and comfort her.

"Katniss! What happened? I rush over to her side and gently pull her into my arms.

"Glimmer happened."

Glimmer? What has she done to my girl? "What did she do to you?"

Katniss explains how Glimmer spiked the volleyball deliberately in her face and claimed it was an accident. I am outraged. Glimmer has crossed the line and she needs to be put in her place.

I whisper sweet words into Katniss' ear as I hold her close to me. I can tell that she is still angry at what happened, and I can only imagine what would have gone down if the two of them weren't in school at the time.

Things are rough at rehearsal today. Katniss and I are definitely not doing our best, and every time Katniss messes up a line, Glimmer has to make some sort of bitchy comment or she sends a smirk at Katniss.

After rehearsal, I look for the opportunity to confront Glimmer about what she did to Katniss, but she is already gone by the time we are ready to leave.

Katniss is still fuming on the ride home. She sits in the passenger seat of my car with her arms crossed tight across her chest.

"Are you angry at me for some reason?"

She turns in my direction. "No, of course not, I just wish that Glimmer would stop trying to make my life miserable."

We arrive at her house and I expect her to bolt out of the car at any second. Instead, she surprises me by unbuckling her seat belt and leaning over, pressing her lips against mine.

The kiss, while gentle at first, begins to increase in intensity very quickly. My mind has completely forgotten everything bad that happened today and it focuses only on the feel of her lips against mine.

Somehow, Katniss ends up straddling my lap, hitting the button on the side of the seat to force it backwards. I am surprised at what is happening to say the least, but I don't think anything could entice me to stop her right now.

Her tongue spears into my mouth and I can't help the muffled groan that spills out of me. She kisses me fiercely, warm and wet and undeniably arousing. My fingers find the elastic band that is holding her hair in its usual braid and I gently pull it off, threading my fingers through her long, dark tresses.

And then, she is grinding slightly on my lap, just enough that I have to fight with myself not to press up into her and show her just how much I want her right now.

Without warning, Katniss breaks the kiss, and stares into my eyes with a look of sadness flickering in her own eyes. "Are you sure you don't want Glimmer?"

What? Is she crazy? Where did this come from? "I don't want anyone but you," I tell her, brushing my hand down her cheek.

She smiles briefly, before biting her lip. "I'm sorry Peeta. I'm trying to be a good girlfriend…to give you what you want and need."

I have no idea what she is talking about. Of course she is a good girlfriend! She is Katniss and that's all I've ever wanted. "I don't understand what you mean."

She sighs and shuffles back over to her seat. "I…I'm not like most girls. I don't know how to be sexy and I'm not that experienced when it comes to umm…stuff like that."

Is that why she was all over me a moment ago? Does she think that I just want her for sex or something? Nothing could be further from the truth. I mean, yes, I do want that with her, eventually, but that's not why I love her. "Katniss, I don't care about any of that. I want to be with you because I care about you, because you are amazing and selfless and beautiful. I don't want to just fool around with you; I genuinely want to be with you."

Her gray eyes light up at my words and she smiles. "Really?"

I nod my head at her. "Yes. Now, I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy what happened a few minutes ago, but I promise that I'm not just interested in sex, okay?"

Katniss leans over and kisses my cheek. "Thanks Peeta, you're great."

After I leave, I drive home with conflicting thoughts filling my head. What I told Katniss was true, but I can't deny that I thoroughly enjoyed our hot kisses and her grinding into my lap like she was. I would never force her to do anything that she didn't want to do, and I hope that I made that clear to her. It doesn't mean that I won't be looking forward to the next time I can kiss her luscious lips or feel her warm body against mine.

I hear Clove's words about Katniss in the back of my mind. "She's a virgin, she won't put out…"

I shake my head clear of those thoughts. Even though my hormones are racing out of control every time I see Katniss, I have waited so long for her to even look at me; I can wait a little longer until she is comfortable enough to go further with me.


	14. Dinner With The Mellark Family

Katniss' POV:

After Peeta dropped me off at home, I immediately went up to my room to close myself off from the world. I flop down onto my bed and bury my face into my pillow and let all of my frustration out into a muffled scream.

I finally have something good in my life in the form of an amazing boyfriend, and I can't even enjoy it because of Glimmer. And it isn't just words now, it's actual physical harm. I feel like Peeta deserves better than me in some ways, but he seems adamant that he only wants me. I just hope that he continues to feel that way.

The next day, Peeta picks me up for school again. When I get in his car, his face is twisted up and he is chewing on his lip nervously.

"Peeta? What's wrong?"

He sighs, running a hand through his thick blond hair. "My dad would like it if you would join us for dinner tonight."

I gasp in surprise. I didn't even know that he had mentioned me to his family at all. "Oh…umm, okay."

Peeta turns to me and I see that his deep blue eyes are worried. "You should know that my mother can be rather…difficult at times."

I nod my head, but inside I am terrified. I have heard stories about Mrs. Mellark being kind of a bitch, even to customers at the bakery, so I can only imagine how she will treat me. Still, I find myself agreeing to have dinner with Peeta and his family. "Thanks for the warning, are we going right after school or should I go home and change into something more formal first?"

He shakes his head. "No, you don't have to change. I'll just bring you back with me. Umm…you don't have any food allergies, do you?"

I look at him in confusion. He is acting very strange about this whole dinner thing. "Not that I know of, why?"

I swear I see him shudder, but he just starts up the engine and begins to drive us to school. "No reason…just making sure."

We ride the rest of the way in silence. I can tell that there is something that Peeta isn't telling me, but I don't want to bother him about it anymore.

School goes by quickly. Besides more dirty looks from Glimmer, she doesn't do anything else. I breathe a sigh of relief and hope that she is done bothering me.

I really wish that Peeta would have given me more notice before asking me to have dinner with his family tonight. I have seen his family at various times while visiting the bakery, and I met his one older brother recently, but I am nervous to be around them all at once.

After school ends for the day, Peeta and I make our way back to his car. His hair is all mussed up, like he has been running his fingers through it all day. I know for a fact that he was doing that almost constantly in Astronomy class.

I squeeze his hand and give him a kiss on the cheek to try to calm him down. "It will be fine; I'll try not to embarrass you in front of your family."

"No, I'm not worried about you; I'm worried about how my mother and brother will act."

I sigh and squeeze his hand tighter. "I'm a tough girl, I can handle it."

When we arrive, Peeta leads me into the house and I am immediately greeted by his family.

"Mom, Dad, this is Katniss Everdeen, my girlfriend. Katniss, this is my mom and dad and I believe you already know Dave."

I nod and smile at Dave and then shake Peeta's dad's hand. His father smiles at me warmly, his blue eyes sparkling. "Nice to meet you Katniss!"

I smile back at him. "You as well Mr. Mellark."

I turn to Peeta's mom next. She is a short woman, at least five inches shorter than me, but while Mr. Mellark's presence is warm and inviting, Mrs. Mellark's presence is cold and almost hostile. I give her my best smile anyway. "Pleased to meet you Mrs. Mellark." I offer my hand and she reluctantly takes it.

She pumps my hand once and then quickly withdraws. "Hello Katniss," she says coolly.

Peeta laughs nervously. "Well, now that introductions are complete, can I give Katniss a tour of the house before dinner?"

"Of course! We will call you when it is ready." Peeta's dad grins at us.

Peeta drags me off and shows me the house. He ends the tour at his bedroom. When we enter, I notice several beautiful paintings on the walls, all of various landscapes.

"These are beautiful! Where did you get them?"

Peeta blushes. "I painted them myself."

I am in awe of his talent. The rich colors of the paintings and the delicate strokes that the brushes made are perfect. "They are amazing. You are quite talented!"

"Thanks. I'm doing one of Palmer Lake right now. It holds a special place in my heart."

I smirk at him, remembering out little make out session at the lake. "Hmm…any reason why?"

He grins at me. "I can show you better than I can tell you."

With that said, Peeta lunges towards me, causing us to fall backwards to his bed. His lips are on mine in an instant and any worries I have about having dinner with his family have disappeared as his lips move against mine. He deepens the kiss, flicking his tongue against my lips until I open them for him. I feel like I am on fire as our tongues slide, warm and wet, against each other. I tangle my hands in his soft hair and try to bring him as close to me as humanly possible.

"Ahem."

Peeta and I spring apart and see that his brother is standing in the doorway. I leap off of the bed and straighten my clothing as Peeta curses at his brother. "Damn it Dave! What do you want?"

Dave laughs loudly. "Dinner is ready. You two are lucky that I insisted on being the one to come get you two and not mom, she would have had a fit if she saw you guys like that!"

I feel my face burn bright red, but I still follow Peeta and his brother downstairs into the dining room. Dinner has begun.

Peeta's POV:

Although I'm kind of mad that Dave interrupted us, he is right. Mom would have had a coronary if she found me on top of Katniss, making out with her like that.

The table is all set and ready when we sit down. Dad smiles at Katniss as she takes the seat next to me. "Peeta's oldest brother, Henry, is off at college so he won't be joining us tonight."

Katniss nods and unfolds her napkin before placing it in her lap. I sneak my hand over and squeeze hers lightly, hoping that dinner will go smoothly.

Mom made stuffed chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans for dinner. Dad offered up some freshly made bread to finish off the meal.

Katniss was perfectly polite during dinner, but I could tell that my mom didn't like her for some reason.

"So, Katniss, what do your parents do for a living?" My mother sips her water, waiting for her answer.

"My mom is a nurse," Katniss answers after carefully chewing her bite of food.

"And your father?" I swear that my mom knows that Katniss' father is dead; in fact, I bet she is just trying to make Katniss feel uncomfortable.

I hate my mother for asking that question when I know her ulterior motives are less than innocent.

Katniss' fork clatters to her plate and I see her face visibly pale before my eyes. She opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off. "Katniss' father died some years ago."

My mom puts her hand to her mouth in mock surprise. "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't know!" But she did know, and she is a terrible actress.

My dad tries to change the subject to school, but my mom somehow finds a way to make Katniss feel uncomfortable again. In fact, the entire rest of the dinner is filled with my mother being a cold-hearted bitch to my girlfriend.

Finally, I can't take it anymore. Before she can serve up dessert, I get up from the table. "You know what? I can't take this anymore! If you can't be nice to my girlfriend, then we will go elsewhere for dessert!"

I grab Katniss' hand and pull her out of the room, leaving my mother behind with her mouth hanging wide open in shock.

Once we get outside, I pull Katniss into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry baby. My mother is like that to most everyone. I'm not sure why, but she hates every girl me or my brothers has ever brought home."

She nods into my shoulder before pulling away. "Your dad seems nice though."

I give her a half-smile. "He is, and I can tell that he really likes you."

The two of us end up going out to get ice cream together downtown. Katniss gets a double scoop of mint chocolate chip and I get cookie dough.

"Peeta?" Katniss looks up at me from her cone.

I smile at her and brush my hand lightly across her cheek. "Yes?"

"Thanks for sticking up for me."

I lean over and kiss her sticky lips gently. "Anything for you."

"Aw, how sweet, if it isn't the star-crossed lovers themselves."

I look up and see Glimmer and Clove smirking at us.

I sigh and shake my head. Don't those two ever give up? I remember how Glimmer hurt Katniss yesterday and I find myself getting out of my seat and standing right in front of her. "Leave us alone. You are seriously the biggest bitch I have ever had the misfortune of meeting. You hurt my girl in more ways than one and I want you to back off…NOW!"

Glimmer gasps in shock and Clove blinks at me. However, after a moment or two, Glimmer just smiles. A sickly sweet smile that makes me have to take a step back from her. "Oh Peeta, you're just so cute when you're angry."

Katniss stands up, gently pushes me aside and stands in front of Glimmer. "Look, it's never going to happen, get over it."

"You're too naïve to understand the wants and needs of a man like Peeta. Once he gets past this little 'crush' he has on you, he will be all over me."

I am about to intercede, when Katniss glares angrily at Glimmer and then promptly smashes the rest of her ice cream cone all over Glimmer's face.

Glimmer shrieks and starts to frantically wipe off the sticky mess on her face. "You bitch!"

Katniss just shrugs her shoulders casually and takes my arm. "Come on Peeta, let's go."

As weird as it sounds, Katniss' little display of possessiveness over me and how she smashed her ice cream in Glimmer's face has me a little bit aroused. When we get back to my car, I back Katniss up until she is pressed against the door and kiss her.

She wraps her arms around me and we are locked in such a passionate embrace that neither of us notices the person coming up behind us until Katniss is suddenly wrenched from my arms.


	15. Unwanted Attention

Katniss' POV:

"Catnip? What the fuck are you doing?"

I rip myself free of Gale's grasp, angry at his sudden intrusion. "I could ask you the same thing!"

Peeta just stands there looking shocked, his mouth hanging slightly open, before shaking himself out of his stupor. "Katniss, what's going on?"

I turn to Gale and shake my head. "I wish I knew. Why don't you enlighten us?"

Gale scowls. "I was coming to get some ice cream, and I saw you two practically humping each other up against the car. Is this your new fuck buddy Catnip?"

I have to physically hold myself back from punching Gale in the face. I can't believe he thinks he has a hold on me after all of this time. "This is my boyfriend and I can make out with him anytime that I want. Now kindly go away so I can continue my date."

I take Peeta's hand so that we can leave, but Gale steps in front of us again. "Don't you remember how good we were together?"

As Gale leans closer to me, I smell the distinct scent of alcohol on his breath. "Are you drunk?"

He blinks at me, and I can tell that I have hit the nail on the head. "I just can't stop thinking about you. Remember that time we were in the back of my car and we…"

I cut him off. "That's in the past now. We are through so I suggest you get over it."

"But Catnip!"

Peeta pushes himself in between me and Gale. "Look man, I'm not sure what your deal is, but she is not interested, so back off!"

Gale glares at Peeta, the hostility coming off of him in waves. "Listen here, baker boy, I had her first and she just needs to realize that I am better for her than you will ever be."

Before any punches can be thrown, I grab Peeta's arm and shove him into the car. "Let's go, he isn't worth it."

Peeta nods and starts up the car and we leave Gale, still fuming and swearing, in the dust.

After we are well on our way, Peeta finally speaks up. "What the hell was that all about? I thought you two broke up ages ago."

I sigh loudly. "We did, but he suddenly wants me back or something. I don't understand why he has to be so difficult. I made it very clear to him that we will never be getting back together."

Peeta smirks. "So, that time in the back of his car? Care to elaborate on that?"

I cringe, recalling the events of that particular hot and muggy night. "Do you really want to know?"

"Probably not, but just tell me one thing…did you guys ever…?"

"Ever what?"

Peeta sighs and I see him bite his lip. "You know…do it?'

I knew that that question would come up eventually, but I still wasn't prepared for it. Images from the night in question come flooding into my mind. Hot kisses, tentative touching, half-naked bodies grinding against each other, but no sex. "No, we didn't go that far."

I hear Peeta let out a pent-up breath of relief. "Have you ever…with anyone?"

I shake my head. "No, never."

We arrive at my house and Peeta cuts the engine. We sit in silence for a moment before I finally ask him. "And you? Have you ever had sex before?"

Even in the darkness, I can see his face flush. "I…I've only had one girlfriend, but it never came to that. There was…I mean I…"

He trails off and I can see that he is fighting some internal battle of whether or not to tell me something. "There was what? You can tell me."

Peeta runs his fingers through his hair and I can see that his hand is shaking. "There was always someone else. Some other girl who I thought was unobtainable, but that I wanted to wait for anyway. So even though I wanted to experience what sex is like, I just couldn't. As weird as it sounds, I felt like if I had sex, and then I got the chance to be with this girl, I would regret it forever if I didn't wait for her."

I unbuckle my seatbelt and turn to him in confusion. So Peeta was a virgin too, but who was the mystery girl that he wanted to wait for? "Who is this girl?"

The corner of his lips curves up in a small smile. "You really don't know?"

I shake my head. "No, I don't know."

He leans over so that his lips are less than an inch from my ear. "You."

I lean back and look at him in surprise. "Me?"

Peeta takes me face in his hands and our eyes lock. "Yes you. It has always been you." He laughs lightly before continuing. "It sounds silly, but I have had a secret crush on you since you first moved here."

I blush at his words, but I am still confused. If he really liked me that much, then why didn't he approach me sooner? "I don't understand. If you have liked me for so long, why did you never say anything to me about it?"

Peeta lets go of my face and frowns. "I'm kinda shy and I have a difficult time talking to pretty girls. I'm sorry if it seems like I was some creeper or something."

"No, I just wish I could have gotten to know you sooner."

"Me too," he says as he leans forward and presses his warm lips against mine.

Peeta's POV:

I can't believe that I just told Katniss that I have had a crush on her for years and she didn't freak out. I really thought that she would think that I was weird for liking her from a far for so long.

Soon, all thoughts cease to exist in my mind, save for the pleasure that I am feeling while kissing Katniss.

Her tongue swipes along my lips and I part them so that our tongues can slide against each others. Her hot, wet mouth moves against mine and I can't help a small moan from escaping my lips.

Katniss breaks the kiss. "My mother and sister aren't home right now; do you want to come in for a while?"

I glance at the clock in the car and see that it isn't too late. "Yeah, sure." I try to make my response sound casual, but inside I am dying to be alone with Katniss in somewhere that isn't my car.

She smiles and grabs my hand, leading me into her house. "Let's go up to my room."

I swallow hard and somehow manage to nod my head. I have had many fantasies over the years of Katniss' bedroom and the things we could do in it.

When we get to her room, she opens the door to a small room with a twin sized bed, a dresser, and a desk. The room is a dark green color and is very neat and clean.

Katniss sits on her bed and pats the spot next to her. "Join me?"

I tentatively sit down next to her, not sure what to expect, but anticipating every moment to come. Katniss shift closer to me and turns my face to hers for a kiss.

Our kiss soon turns into a hot and heavy make-out session, and when I push her backwards onto her bed and press my body on top of hers, it is all I can do to keep myself from becoming too aroused.

I begin to trail kisses down her neck, pausing to nip and suck at her pulse point. She moans lightly in my ear and that small sound spurs me onward. My hand travels down to the hem of her shirt and I skim my fingertips underneath of it.

Katniss squirms under my touch so I immediately stop what I am doing, certain that I have gone too far.

"Why did you stop?" Her voice is husky, and her eyes are darkened in desire.

"I thought I was making you uncomfortable."

"Not at all, quite the opposite actually. In fact, let me make it easier on you." Katniss lifts her shirt up and over her head.

I have died and gone to heaven. Right before me is a beautiful angel in the form of Katniss Everdeen, shirtless and begging for me to put my hands on her.

I let my eyes linger on her shirtless form. Her breasts are covered by a simple, cotton bra that gives just a hint of cleavage. I want so badly to take her bra off of her and worship her breasts with my hands and mouth, but I think that will push things a little bit too far. Instead, I force my gaze down to her flat stomach and to where it meets her jeans.

Katniss shifts under my gaze. "Aren't you going to continue?"

Continue? Oh yeah… "Yes."

And with that said, I move my head down to her collarbone and begin to kiss her exposed skin. She is warm under my lips and the moans that she lets out when my kisses become playful nips make my heart pound loudly in my chest.

When I reach the part of her breasts that are not covered by her bra, I hesitate before skipping her chest and continuing my kisses at her stomach.

I look up and see that Katniss' eyes are closed and she is panting slightly. I take this as a good sign and I am about to continue when her eyes flutter open and she catches me staring.

"You should take your shirt off too, it's only fair."

I nod and lift my shirt off over my head, tossing it onto the floor. Katniss' gaze sweeps over my half-naked body and I begin to feel a little bit insecure.

She licks her lips. "You've been holding out on me. Your body is amazing."

Before I can say anything in return, Katniss has flipped us over so that she is now straddling me. I say a silent prayer in thanks that she is straddling above where my arousal is now becoming very evident, maybe I won't scare her away now.

Her fingers graze my skin lightly, the small touches burning my skin in the most delicious way.

By this point, my erection is making my pants almost too tight for comfort. I desperately want to take them off, or relieve the situation in some way, but I know that our relationship is too new for that.

"Katniss, we have to stop."

She withdraws her fingers from my skin. "What's wrong?"

I can't tell her that she is giving me a major hard-on, I just can't. "I…umm, should be going."

She frowns at me, but then goes to get off of my lap. Unfortunately, in order to do that, she backs her body up, right against my rock hard erection.

Shit, by the look on her face, I know she felt it.

"Peeta?"

I am in so much trouble now.


	16. The Show Must Go On

Katniss' POV:

Peeta is looking at me, his face red and flushed, like he just wants to curl up into a ball and disappear. I really don't know what is wrong with him. One minute we are having a good time together, and the next, he is telling me that he has to leave. I need to know what is going on with him.

"Peeta?" I say his name again because I don't think he heard me the first time.

"Yes?" Peeta picks up his shirt and puts it back on, hiding his delicious muscles from my view.

"What's going on?"

His body is facing mine, but his face is turned downwards and he keeps pulling his shirt down and fidgeting uncomfortably. "Umm…I'm sorry. It's just we…and then you…" Peeta trails off.

What is he talking about? He isn't making sense. "What?"

His face turns an even darker shade of red and I swear he is about to bolt from my room. "The stuff we were just doing, it made me…excited. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to offend you!"

I blink at him in confusion for a moment before what he is saying dawns on me. I have to stifle the giggle that is threatening to erupt from my mouth. Is he seriously trying to justify his hard-on right now? Does he really think that I didn't know that that was going to happen? "Peeta…"

He cuts me off. "Please don't be mad! You're just so beautiful and…and…"

I can't take his stammering any longer. I waltz right over to him and shut him up with a kiss. His is still mumbling when my lips find his own. However, it doesn't take long for him to become pliant to my touch.

I break our kiss, smiling at Peeta to let him know that everything is okay. "You didn't offend me by getting excited. Actually, I think I would have been more offended if you didn't get excited by what we were doing."

Peeta's face instantly relaxes. "Thank you for being so understanding."

"Now, do you want to continue where we left off?"

"I'd love to, but I really should be getting back home. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning for school, okay?"

I nod at him, slightly disappointed that our sexy make-out session had to end. I know that it is getting late though, and my mom and Prim should be home at any minute.

I walk with Peeta to the door and give him a simple kiss goodnight.

School flies by today, and when it is time for rehearsal, I am ready to step it up and be Juliet. The play will be performed in just two months so everyone is on edge and frantically trying to remember lines and stage positions.

Effie is as frazzled as ever trying to get us into character. She yells at least twenty times during rehearsal today and nobody can escape the wrath that has come from her anxiety about the play being perfect.

We are practicing the Act where Romeo and Juliet are married, when Glimmer has to make her opinion known.

She is whispering to the girl standing beside her, but she knows that I can hear her. "Romeo is about to get some, but we all know that Peeta will never get any from Katniss, she's too pure."

Yeah, pure my ass. If only Glimmer knew what was going down last night. Or, even better, that Peeta is a virgin too. Maybe then she would shut her big mouth.

For the sake of the play, I ignore Glimmer's little remark and pretend that I didn't hear a thing or that I don't care what she says.

When rehearsal is through, Peeta excuses himself to the restroom and Johanna makes a beeline towards me.

"Glimmer needs to learn to keep her mouth shut."

"Yes, she does," I agree with my friend.

It's only then that I hear another voice from behind us. "No, I don't. In fact, I need to talk to you Katniss, alone."

Johanna steps out in front of me and glares at the other girl. "If you insist on speaking with her, you must do it with me here as well."

Glimmer rolls her eyes and flips her long, golden hair over her shoulder. "Look, what I am going to tell her is something that I doubt she wants anyone else to know, so get lost."

Johanna looks murderous, and I know that if I don't intervene, that punches will soon fly. "It's okay Jo; I'll catch up with you and Peeta in a moment."

My friend nods at me, and with one last nasty look at Glimmer, she stalks off.

"I really don't know why you are friends with that Neanderthal anyway…"

I sigh loudly; I don't have times for Glimmer games and insults. "If you want to tell me something, do it now because I am quickly losing patience with you."

Glimmer chews on her bottom lip for a moment before speaking. "I found out some interesting things about your little boyfriend today."

I raise my eyebrow at her, waiting for her lies to spew forth. "Oh? And I'm guessing that you are here to share those with me?"

She nods. "I think he has an unhealthy obsession with you. Did you know that he has been practically stalking you for years now?"

Peeta had told me that he liked me for quite some time, but I wouldn't consider it stalking. "He has already informed that he had a crush on me for years. I don't consider that to be stalker-like behavior."

Glimmer smirks at me. "I figured that you might need proof."

What is she talking about? She has proof that he was stalking me? "And I suppose you have this proof you speak off?"

"Not with me, but yes. He has a picture of you in a skimpy little red dress on his phone. Somehow I know that he didn't take that photo of you, so why would he have it in his phone then?"

What is she saying? I do not comprehend the situation here. So what if Peeta has a picture of me in his phone? Then, it hits me. He has a picture of me in that dress I tried on before the dance, before I was even with him. How did he get a picture like that? Why would he keep it? It is a little bit creepy when I think about. No, Glimmer is probably making it up just so she can try to get Peeta for herself. "You…you're lying!"

She crossed her arms and grins evilly at me. "Fine, if you don't believe me, just look at his phone and see for yourself."

I shake my head at her. "How do you know he has this picture?"

She shrugs nonchalantly. "Peeta and I have History together. He got out his phone before class officially started and while he was going through some stuff, I saw the picture of you pop up."

Her story seems legitimate, but I can't trust her. "I still think you are lying."

"I don't care what you think. What I am telling you is the truth. Go see for yourself, and while you are at it, ask him who nominated you for homecoming queen."

Glimmer walks away before I can say anything else to her. I want to yell that Johanna was the one who nominated me, she told me herself, but now I'm having doubts.

I have to prove that Glimmer is wrong, that she is lying about the picture. I need to see Peeta's phone.

As I walk back to Peeta and Johanna, I try to keep a straight face. I am still convinced that Glimmer is full of shit and that Peeta is perfectly innocent.

I force a smile on my face as Peeta and I say goodbye to Johanna and head out to his car.

"What did Glimmer want?"

Should I just tell him and let him defend himself if need be? Should I just let it go and forget about it? Or should I lie and say nothing is wrong, but check his phone later? "She was just being her bitchy self, nothing to worry about." There, that was the semi-truth. Glimmer was definitely being her bitchy self.

"Okay, you just seem preoccupied by something." He takes my hand in his own and gives it a squeeze. "You can tell me if something is wrong."

I shake my head. "No, nothing is wrong."

We drive along in silence for a while before Peeta pulls up to a gas station. "I'm almost out of gas. I'll just be a minute."

"Okay."

And there it is, his cell phone, lying in the console between the seats, the orange case glinting in the light.

I should respect his privacy and just forget Glimmer and what she said. But the phone is taunting me, practically begging me to pick it up and sate my curiosity.

Finally, I can't take it anymore. I pick up Peeta's phone and go through it until I find the pictures.

And suddenly, there it is, the picture of me that Glimmer was talking about.


	17. Truth and Lies

Peeta's POV:

When I get back to the car, Katniss is staring straight ahead. She doesn't even glance my way as I sit down and I can just tell that something is off.

"What's wrong?"

Still she does not look my way. "Why is there a pic of me in some dress I tried on before we were dating in your phone?"

Shit, she found the pic that Johanna had sent me. Now I look like some creepy stalker. She is obviously upset by this, if she won't even look at me. Now, do I tell her that Johanna sent it to me to try to save face? Or do I take the blame and make myself look bad, but not betray her friend? "Oh, I umm…"

And then, she does look at me, and her face is flushed red with rage. "What the hell?" She throws her hands up in the air in frustration and I know that I am in deep trouble. "You know how I knew you had this pic? Huh? Yeah, Glimmer told me, fucking Glimmer!"

I don't really know what she is talking about. There is no way Glimmer knew about the picture unless she saw it while I was on my phone some time. And wouldn't it figure that she would tell Katniss about it and make me look bad. I need some sort of story to make this better, to try to save everything between us. "Katniss, let me explain. A friend who knew that I liked you sent it to me."

She blinks her beautiful gray eyes at me. "Who?"

I can't tell her it was Johanna…she took the heat for me about nominating Katniss for homecoming court. "Just a friend…why does it matter?"

"I don't know what to think about this. I have one more question though. Who nominated me for homecoming court?"

How? How does she know it was me? I see my whole world crumbling before me. I've wanted to be with Katniss for so long now, and when I finally have the chance…it begins to fall apart again. I sigh loudly, no need to prolong the inevitable. "I did. It was me."

I hear her suck in a sharp breath. "And you let one of my best friends take the rap for you? How could you? I don't even know who you are anymore!"

I turn to her and place my hands on her shoulders to try to settle her down a bit. "I'm sorry baby, so sorry. I didn't plan on making Johanna take responsibility, she just did. I never meant to make you upset, I just wanted to see someone nice and amazing like you get onto court."

Katniss roughly pushes my hands off her shoulders. "Don't…don't touch me! You really don't know anything about me, do you? I hate homecoming court and things like that! I never wanted to be on it! I can't believe Glimmer was right!"

I feel panic begin to bubble up inside of me, slowly eating away at my relatively calm demeanor. I don't want to lose my girl like this. I need to try to make things right. "Katniss, please listen to me. I didn't know you that well back when I nominated you, but I wanted to know you better. I never wanted to hurt you or make you upset, and whatever Glimmer said is probably a gross exaggeration of the truth. Please believe me baby."

"Don't call me baby. Glimmer was right about you having the picture of me and that you nominated me for homecoming court, so why wouldn't she be right about you having some crazy obsession with me as well?"

Fuck, this was not going well. Katniss is freaking out and I don't know what to say to her to make things better. "I've liked you for a long time, that's true, but I wouldn't call it a 'crazy obsession', she is just trying to get us to break up."

Katniss looks at me for a moment, and I can tell that whatever she says next, I am not going to want to hear it. "Well, it worked. Goodbye Peeta."

She opens the door to the car and begins to step out. I have to stop her; I can't just let her leave. I love her. "Katniss, wait! Please don't let that little bitch get in between us!"

She pokes her head back in. "It's not her, it's the fact that you lied to me and let Johanna take the fault. I don't like liars, and I won't date one."

With that said, she walks away, and my heart breaks into a million pieces.

Katniss' POV:

I can't believe what just happened. Glimmer was right about Peeta. He isn't the nice, innocent guy I thought he was. He is a liar who lets my best friend take the heat for him. I was really falling for him too.

I run away from his car and out onto the road as fast as I can. My house is not too far away, and I couldn't stand being in the car with him anymore.

As I am running, I hear a car honking behind me. At first, I think it's Peeta, determined to get me to talk to him again. However, when I see the vehicle that is now slowing down beside me, I know that this is someone who I need right now, someone who will take me away from my pain.

"Catnip, what the hell are you doing?"

I go to the other side of his car and let myself in. "Just drive Gale."

He does as I ask, but it doesn't take him long to wonder what is going on. "Are you going to tell me what you were doing out there in the dark…alone?"

I groan inwardly. If I tell him about my fight and break up with Peeta, he will think that it is okay to go after me again. I don't want to date Gale again; I just need a friend right now. "Bad day, just take me home, okay?"

"You and your fuck buddy get into a little fight?"

How does he know this? "He wasn't my fuck buddy…"

Gale's head whips around to face me. "Did you just say 'wasn't'…as in past tense?"

Shit, I really need to learn to watch my mouth. "Yeah, it's over between us."

I don't miss the smile that creeps over his mouth and I'm suddenly very uncomfortable. "What happened?"

I sigh, not really wanting to tell him what happened between us. "He…he just wasn't who I thought he was."

Gale pulls up in front of my house. "Does this mean I actually have a chance with you again?"

I roll my eyes at him. "No, it means that I needed a friend and you were there…literally."

He frowns but nods at me. "Okay, well I hope everything works out for you Catnip. Call me if you need me."

"Thanks Gale."

After Gale leaves, I call Johanna to try to clear some things up.

"I have to ask you something, please answer me honestly."

"What's wrong Katniss?"

I take a deep breath and begin. "To make a long story short, was Peeta the one who nominated me for homecoming court? Please tell me the truth."

There is a long pause and then she sighs loudly. "Yes, it was Peeta. How did you know?"

"He told me. I can't believe he would let you take the rap for that! And why would you let him?"

"Katniss, tell me the whole story so I can understand what exactly is going on here. I'm confused."

So I do. I tell her about Glimmer and her accusations and how they ended up being true. I tell her how mad I am at Peeta for letting her take the fault and how I broke up with him. That's where she interrupts me.

"You what?!"

"I can't date someone who would lie to me like that or someone who would let you take the blame."

I hear her curse through the phone. "Katniss, it was my idea to take the blame. I knew you would be upset, but that if it was me, you would get over it quickly. I let you believe it was me so that you didn't get mad at Peeta. Oh, and as for that picture on his phone? I was the one who sent it to him! I knew he had a crush on you and I thought he would like it!"

It takes a moment for everything Johanna said to me to sink in, but when it does, I'm furious. "Why would you send him a pic like that without my permission?"

She is laughing. I am yelling at her and my best friend is laughing at me. "That poor guy is so sweet and nice; I thought he needed something sexy to jerk off to."

I want to scream at her, but I start laughing instead. I guess it really didn't hurt anyone. "You're crazy."

Her laughter stops abruptly. "Well, now that you know the truth, go find Peeta and make up, don't let him get away."

She's right. I kind of flew off the handle at him.

I call Peeta as soon as we hang up. His phone rings five times before I hear his voicemail.

"Hey, this is Peeta, leave me a message."

BEEP

"Peeta? It's Katniss, umm…call me back, I need to talk to you."

I wait for him to call me back all night, but he doesn't. He won't answer any of my texts either. I hope I just didn't ruin things for good.


End file.
